WHEN  THE SOM 
RAN  RED 


^ 


Captain  A.Radelyffe  Du^more 


■t#" 


— ■gj"'^*^ 


-^.T^) 


VT'-- 


^v'yj 


WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

Being  a  very  egotistical  account  of  my  own  personal 
experiences  and  observations  from  the  early  days 
of  the  war  in  Belgium  to  the  Great  Battle  of  the 
Somme  in  July,  1916 


G^^i 


SERVING   THE   BIG   GUNS    AT   THE   BATTLE    OF    THE    SOMME 

During   an   intense  bombardment   the   men   £;trip   to   the   waist   in 
order   to  have   greater  freedom   of  action. 


WHEN  THE  SOMME 
RAN  RED 


BY 
A .  RADCLYFFE  DUGMORE,F.  R.G.  S.,F.  R.  P.  S 

Temp.  Captain  King's  Own  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry 


AUTHOR  OF 

BIRD  HOMES,  CAMERA  ADVENTURES  IN  THE 
AFRICAN   WILDS,  THE  ROMANCE  OF 
THE  BEAVER,  THE  ROMANCE  OF 
THE   CARIBOU,  Etc.,  Etq.  .    .  ,  . 


PROFUSELY  ILLUSTRATED 
WITH  REPRODUCTIONS  OF 
PHOTOGRAPHS  AND  MAPS 


NEW    YORK 

GROSSET    &    DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 


.     .  COPYRIGHT,  1918, 

•/•  ^¥  GEORGE  H.  DORAN  COMPANY 


•    •  » 
••    •  *  . 

•  "  •  •  • 


PRINTED  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA 


AS  A  TOKEN  OF  ADMIRATION  THIS  BOOK  IS  DEDICATED 

WITH  ALL  HUMILITY  TO  THE   GLORIOUS  MEMORY 

OW    THE    OFFICERS    AND    MEN    OF    THE 

KING'S  OWN  YORKSHIRE  LIGHT  INFANTRY 

WHO  FELL  IN  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  SOMME,  AND 
TO  THE  OTHERS  WHO  MADE  THE  SUPREME 
SACRIFICE    IN    THE    CAUSE    OF   HUMANITY 


4.59Si8 


FOREWORD 

THE  SECOND  BATTLE  OF  THE  SOMME  IN  RELATION 
TO  THE  BRITISH  OFFENSIVE  OF  1916 

When  the  Germans  undertook  their  great 
offensive  against  France  in  1914  their  plan  was, 
of  course,  to  overrun  with  the  utmost  speed,  a 
suffici0itly  large  area  of  the  country  to  ensure 
an  almost  immediate  and  complete  victory. 
Paris  was  the  first  important  objective.  The 
attainment  of  this  was  to  have  been  followed 
rapidly  by  a  drive  against  the  sea-port  towns  on 
the  English  Channel,  with  the  obvious  effect  of 
preventing  Great  Britain  from  coming  to  the  as- 
sistance of  her  ally.  In  planning  this  ambitious 
scheme  of  conquest  the  German  strategists  real- 
ized the  possibility  of  failure  and  selected  as  their 
strategic  line  of  defense,  in  case  they  were  forced 
back  from  Paris,  the  region  east  of  the  Somme 
and  northward  from  Curlu,  taking  in  the  line 
which  included  the  villages  of  Mametz,  Fricourt, 
La  Boisselle,  Ovillers,  Thiepval,  Beaumont, 
Hamel,  Gommecourt,  and  on  in  a  more  or  less 
northerly  direction  to  the  coast. 

vii 


viii  FOREWORD 

This  line  was  chosen  with  the  greatest  possible 
skill.  It  followed  the  series  of  ridges  and  hills 
and  thus  gave  command  of  the  country  to  the 
west ;  in  other  words,  any  attack  against  the  Ger- 
mans would  have  to  be  made  uphill,  always 
a  difficult  undertaking.  Besides  the  natural 
strength  of  the  position  the  line  was  made  still 
more  secure  by  the  employment  of  every  device 
known  to  military  science,  so  that  it  was  re- 
garded as  an  almost  impregnable  system  of 
trenches.  This  then  was  the  line  we  were  to  at- 
tack in  July,  1916,  largely  with  the  idea  of 
relieving  the  pressure  that  was  being  exerted 
against  Verdun. 

In  the  following  pages  I  have  attempted  to 
give  some  idea  of  hov/  at  least  on  one  part  of  the 
front,  the  offensive  was  carried  out.  It  was 
written  before  the  recent  gigantic  German  at- 
tacks, which,  unfortunately,  have  succeeded  in 
forcing  us  back  to  a  line  which  in  part  is  west 
of  the  position  we  occupied  in  June,  1916. 
Whether  or  not  we  could  have  avoided  yielding 
this  ground  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  know,  but 
there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  to  have  held 
our  line  would  have  involved  the  sacrifice  of  such 
an  immense  number  of  lives  that  it  was  consid- 
ered wiser  to  give  up  the  ground,  at  the  same 


^ 


FOREWORD  ix 

time  making  the  Germans  pay  a  toll  in  lives  out 
of  all  proportion  to  the  value  of  the  territory 
they  have  gained. 

Whether  or  not  this  is  Germany's  final  effort 
none  of  us  can  tell.  The  common  idea  is  that  if 
it  fails  the  German  people  will  demand  peace, 
as  they  will  be  sickened  by  the  ghastly  slaughter, 
which  has  surpassed  anything  the  world  has  ever 
known.  This  theory  is  not  generally  believed  by 
those  who  are  in  the  best  position  to  judge,  so 
it  is  not  wise  for  us  to  make  plans  based  on  the 
supposition  that  peace  is  near.  Such  action 
would  mean  the  delaying  of  the  most  necessary 
war  preparations,  and  this  is  exactly  what  the 
Germans  are  most  anxious  to  have  happen.  It 
is  the  work  of  their  propagandists  to  make  people 
believe  that  the  war  will  very  soon  be  finished,  so 
that  we  shall  slow  down  on  the  mxanufacturing 
of  war  material  and  the  training  of  men.  It  is 
well,  therefore,  to  guard  against  all  stories  deal- 
ing with  early  peace,  and  if  possible  try  to  trace 
the  origin  of  such  stories.  The  source  will  in 
nearly  all  cases  be  found  to  be  German,  or  what 
is  equally  vile,  pacifist,  for  the  pacifist  is  quite  as 
dangerous  as  the  pro-German  in  our  midst.  He 
would  have  us,  among  other  things,  conclude  a 
shameful  peace  on  any  terms,  he  would  have  us 


X  FOREWORD 

barter  our  heritage  of  liberty  and  freedom  for 
whatever  disgraceful  form  of  government  the 
unprincipled  military  power  of  Germany  would 
impose  on  us,  so  that  those  who  have  died  for  our 
cause  would  have  died  in  vain. 

Unfortunately  so  little  information  has  been' 
given  to  the  public  regarding  the  exact  position 
occupied  by  the  Allies  at  the  present  time  that  it 
is  extremely  difficult  to  form  any  accurate  opin- 
ion of  the  situation.  Apparently  the  Germans 
are  in  possession  of  the  country  east  of  a  line 
running  south  from  Bailleul  to  Mourlancourt, 
from  which  point  it  appears  to  swing  slightly 
westerly,  curving  round  to  Montdidier.  Albert  is 
in  the  hands  of  the  enemy,  and  the  famous  statue 
of  the  leaning  Virgin,  mentioned  in  another  chap- 
ter, has  probably  already  been  melted  down  for 
the  purpose  of  making  munitions.  From  Albert 
to  Corbie  runs  the  little  river  Ancre,  which  is  bor- 
dered by  more  or  less  swampy  ground  from  Ville 
to  where  it  joins  the  Somme.  On  either  side  of 
the  valley  is  high  rolling  ground,  most  of  which 
is  under  cultivation,  with  patches  of  woodland 
here  and  there.  It  is  ideal  country  for  open 
warfare.  Judging  from  the  accounts  that  have 
been  published,  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  we 
still  hold  the  north  side  of  the  valley  as  far  as 


FOREWORD  xi 

Heilly,  or  perhaps  a  little  farther  toward  Corbie, 
but  whether  we  are  in  possession  of  the  high 
ground  which  overlooks  the  town  from  the  east 
and  south  I  do  not  know.  Everything  depends 
on  this,  as  these  hills  completely  dominate  the 
town.  Should  Corbie  fall,  the  position  of 
Amiens  will  be  very  serious  and  for  many  rea- 
sons the  Germans  are  most  anxious  to  force  us 
out  of  this  important  town  and  railway  centre. 

From  Corbie  to  Amiens  there  is  a  wide  belt  of 
low  and  somewhat  swampy  land  following  the 
river.  This  is  controlled  to  some  extent  by  a 
range  of  hills  on  the  north  side  and  to  a  less  ex- 
tent by  lower  rolling  ground  on  the  south,  so  that 
unless  the  Huns  cross  the  Somme,  and  attempt 
to  outflank  us,  the  attack  on  Amiens  would  be 
difficult  and  very  costly.  It  is  quite  impossible 
to  make  predictions  with  any  degree  of  accu- 
racy, but  though  the  situation  at  the  present 
moment  is  serious,  the  optimistic  tone  of  the 
French  and  British  commanders  as  expressed  in 
the  newspapers  should  give  us  reason  to  believe 
that  the  great  German  offensive  is  doomed  to 
ultimate  failure,  even  though  it  gains  a  consider- 
able amount  of  territory. 

From  a  sentimental  point  of  view  we  feel  very 
deeply  having  to  yield  ground  that  was  won  at 


xii  FOREWORD 

such  a  terrible  cost  in  lives  and  energy;  to  those 
of  us  who  took  part  in  the  1916  advance  it  is  a 
very  great  blow,  for  we  believed  that  if  once  the 
Bapaume  region  was  taken  we  would  be  able  to 
hold  it  against  any  forces  the  Germans  could 
bring  against  us.  Through  the  greater  part  of 
the  regained  area  the  work  of  reconstruction  had 
been  carried  on  with  the  utmost  energy.  The 
shell-torn  ground  was  being  levelled  and  made 
ready  for  cultivation,  roads  were  repaired  and 
railways  laid.  And  now,  not  only  has  all  this 
work  been  either  destroyed  or  taken  over  by  the 
Germans,  but  many  villages,  which  hitherto  had 
been  peacefully  occupied  by  the  French  people, 
who  had  always  treated  us  with  such  kindness, 
have  been  wrested  from  us,  and  the  chances  are 
very  great  that  the  wretched  people  will  never 
again  see  anything  but  the  ruined  remains  of  their 
former  homes. 

Apart  from  the  actual  material  loss  there  is 
the  terrible  thought  that  the  graves  of  our  poor 
Dead  are  desecrated  by  the  very  presence  of  the 
Hun.  At  least  we  had  hoped  that  the  bodies  of 
those  who  made  the  Great  Sacrifice  for  the  cause 
of  Right  might  have  been  allowed  to  rest  undis- 
turbed in  their  simple  graves.  But  such  ap- 
parently was  not  to  be,  and  we  can  only  pray  that 


FOREWORD  xiii 

the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  Hun  and  all 
he  stands  for  shall  be  driven  forever  from  the  soil 
of  France  and  Belgium.  Before  that  day  comes 
we  must  expect  to  go  through  periods  of  great 
strain  and  anxiety.  Our  endurance  vvdll  perhaps 
be  tested  almost  to  the  point  of  breaking,  but  the 
knowledge  of  the  righteousness  of  our  cause,  of 
the  greatness  of  our  resources,  and  above  all,  the 
wonderful  spirit  and  determination  of  our  men, 
who  are  engaged  in  the  fighting,  and  the  no  less 
wonderful  spirit  of  those  who,  though  forced  to 
remain  at  home,  are  so  generously  backing  up  the 
jQghting  forces,  make  ultimate  victory  a  matter 
of  certainty.  The  Hun  can  never  triumph.  Even 
though  he  were  to  force  us  out  of  France;  even 
though  he  were  to  capture  Paris,  that  will  not 
bring  him  nearer  to  victory.  So  long  as  a  drop 
of  living  blood  remains  in  France  and  Great 
Britain  the  war  must  continue.  America's  gi- 
gantic preparations  are  bearing  fruit,  her  limit- 
less resources  wiU,  as  time  goes  on,  make  her 
power  more  and  more  a  factor  in  the  task  of 
defeating  the  Hun.  She  has  championed  the 
cause  of  World  freedom,  and  she  will  not  rest 
until  that  cause  has  been  won,  and  adequate 
measures  taken  to  ensure  a  lasting  peace,  a  peace 
which  will  guarantee  safety  for  even  the  smallest 


xiv  FOREWORD 

and  most  helpless  of  nations.  We  owe  nothing 
less  than  this  to  our  heroic  Dead,  and  we  should 
never  dare  look  on  the  little  White  Crosses  that 
mark  their  last  resting  places  if  we  failed  in  this 
sacred  obligation. 

A.  R.  D. 


CONTENTS 

PART  ONE 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I    In  Belgium — ^a  Prisoneb 19 

II    Wounded  at  Alost 43 

III  In  England — from  CiviLLysr  to  Soldier  .  59 

PART  TWO 

IV  Rejoining  My  Battalion 73 

V    First  View  of  the  Trenches     ....  83 

VI    AtBecordel — Strafed f/)4 

VII    In  the  Front  Line  Trenches    .     .     .     .  115 

VIII    Preparing  for  the  Great  Offensive  .     .  142 

IX    Hell  Let  Loose 176 

X    Battle  of  the  Somme — ^The  Great  Day     .  189 

XI    A  Bad  Night  Among  the  Shells     .     .     .  208 

XII    Captured  Lines  and  Prisoners      .     .      .  218 

XIII  The  Toll  of  Battle 234 

XIV  Rest — ^and  Return  to  the  "Show"     .     .  250 
XV    A  Hot  Corner — Gassed 264 

XVI    The  Pivot 281 

XV 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

Serving  the  Big  Guns Frontispiece 

PAGES 

German  Metrailleuse  (Machine  Gun)     ...       54 

Billets!   Tommy  Always  Cheerful  Manages  to 
Make  Himself  Comfortable 78 

Aeroplane  Photograph  Showing  the  Opposing 
Lines  of  Trenches  Near  Fricourt  ....     110 

Aeroplane  Photograph  Showing  Part  of  the 
German  Lines 110 

Message  Sent  by  Author  from  Brigade  Head- 
quarters   128 

Magnetic  Compass  Bearings  Laid  Out      .     .     .     128 

List  of  Work  to  be  Done  by  the  Company  Which 
Relieved  the  Author 128 

Description  of  Enemy's  Attitude  as  Experi- 
enced BY  THE  Author 128 

A  Typical  Scene  on  the  Roads  Immediately  Back 
of  the  Front  Line 140 

Part  of  Actual  Map  Used  During  the  Battle 
of  the  Somj^ie 176 

Sketch  of  Trenches  Occupied  by  the  Author     .     176 

Scaling  Ladders  Being  Put  in  Position  .     .     .     196 

xvii 


xviii  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGES 

During  the  Advance,  the  Men  IVIarch  Across 
No  jVIan's  Land  at  Slow  Speed 206 

Wave  After  Wave  of  Infantry  Streamed  Across    206 

The  Ger^lvn  Front  Line  Trenches  Near  Fri- 
couRT 224 

A  British  To^biy  Leading  a  Wounded  Hun  .      .     234 

Part  of  ]VL\p  Taken  from  Dead  German  Officer    256 

A  Tank  Crushing  Down  Barbed  Wire  Entangle- 
ments   272 


WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 


FART  I 

CHAPTER  I 

In  Belgium — ^a  Prisoner 

Before  dealing  with  my  somewhat  limited  ex- 
periences and  impressions  of  the  Great  War  I 
feel  that  a  word  of  explanation  as  to  how  at  my 
age  I  happened  to  give  up  my  peaceful  occupa- 
tion as  a  private  citizen  and  join  the  army  will 
not  be  altogether  out  of  place,  especially  as  it  re- 
lates to  that  ghastly  period  of  the  war,  the  devas- 
tation of  Belgium. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  within  a  few  days 
after  Great  Britain's  declaration  of  war  against 
Germany  accounts  of  the  atrocities  committed  by 
the  invaders  of  Belgium  were  circulated  through- 
out the  country.  We  were  incredulous  at  first, 
no  one  believed  that  a  great  nation  could  be 
guilty  of  the  horrors  attributed  to  Germany,  and 
yet  evidence  was  not  lacking  to  show  that  the 
worst  stories  were  to  a  great  extent  true. 
Throughout  my  life,  which  has  been  devoted  to 

19 


20  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

the  study,  of 'outdoor  natural  history,  I  have  al- 
sy&ys  found  it  advisable  to  see  before  believing, 
iii  other  words  to  verify  reports  before  regarding 
them  as  facts.  Thus  it  happened  that  on  August 
,14th,  1914,  I  made  my  way  to  Belgium  armed 
with  a  camera  and  a  large  and  most  imposing 
British  passport. 

Ostend  was  my  first  objective,  and  I  found  the 
famous  w^atering  place  in  a  very  peaceful  condi- 
tion, but  there  was  a  great  deal  of  suppressed 
excitement,  and  the  conversation  was  only  of  the 
war  and  what  the  Germans  were  doing  in  other 
and  less  fortunate  parts  of  the  country.  The 
town  was  more  or  less  bedecked  with  the  flags 
of  the  Allies,  and  various  proclamations  regard- 
ing the  duties  of  the  people  and  other  matters, 
together  with  coloured  posters  of  the  uniforms 
of  friendly  and  enemy  soldiers  were  conspicuous 
in  every  street.  Later  on  refugees  from  various 
parts  of  the  invaded  country  drifted  into  Ostend, 
and  arrangements  were  hastily  made  to  feed  and 
house  the  unfortunate  homeless  people.  Private 
individuals  as  well  as  the  Bed  Cross  undertook 
this  work  of  relief,  but  it  put  a  great  strain  on 
the  resources  of  the  town.  There  was  a  rumour 
that  Brussels  was  to  be  taken,  so  I  went  there  and 
found  the  amusing,  even  pitiful,  spectacle  of  ridi- 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  SI 

culous  little  barricades  throv^^n  across  various 
main  streets.  These  were  guarded  by  members 
of  the  Garde  Civique.  The  whole  thing  struck 
me  as  being  absurd,  to  think  that  such  childish 
efforts  could  stay  the  troops  of  the  most  highly 
organised  military  organisation  the  world  had 
ever  known.  Reason  fortunately  prevailed  and 
these  futile  preparations  were  abandoned.  Six- 
teen hours  after  I  left  the  city  the  Germans  en- 
tered, so  I  missed  the  great  but  lamentable  sight. 
I  returned  to  Ostend  in  time  for  a  small  taste 
of  excitement  v/hen  a  few  Uhlans  made  v/hat  was 
apparently  a  reconnaissance  of  the  town.  They 
were  v/armly  received  by  the  Belgians  who  met 
and  engaged  them  on  the  outskirts.  The  town 
was  in  a  badly  frightened  condition.  Allied  flags 
were  hastily  concealed.  All  w^ho  could  were 
flocking  to  the  steamer  landing  in  hopes  of  get- 
ting away  to  England.  Frantic  efforts  were 
m^ade  to  get  hold  of  money,  English  gold  realising 
as  much  as  35  francs  for  the  sovereign.  I  was 
eating  my  breakfast  at  the  Hotel  Maritime  when 
the  excitement  outside  In  the  square  suggested  a 
new  development  of  affairs.  A  few  minutes  later 
some  Belgian  soldiers  passed  through  the  dining- 
room,  leading  a  highly  indignant  German  ofiicer 
on  whose  arm  was  the  sign  of  the  Bed  Cross.    It 


£2  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

appeared  that  he  had  been  caught  red-handed 
in  the  act  of  trying  to  shoot  some  Belgians.  One 
of  his  captors  was  carrying  the  revolver.  Soon 
a  couple  of  badly  wounded  Uhlans  were  brought 
in  and  put  on  board  the  steamer  for  England. 
It  is  a  pleasure  to  record  that  they  were  treated 
with  the  utmost  care.  This  apparently  was  all 
we  were  to  see  of  the  skirmish.  If  I  remember 
correctly  about  nine  Germans  were  killed  and 
three  or  four  Belgians.  It  brought  home  to  the 
people  of  Ostend  that  the  war  was  very  near. 
But  their  faith  in  France  and  Britain  was  great, 
help  would  come  in  time  they  felt  sure.  Alas 
they  were  doomed  to  disappointment. 

From  Ostend  I  moved  to  Ghent,  and  while 
there  paid  several  visits  to  Termonde  during  the 
various  periods  of  its  destruction,  and  what  a 
pitiful  sight  it  was.  The  wretched  little  town  of 
some  1600  houses  was  almost  a  complete  wreck. 
Over  1200  houses  were  destroyed,  whole  streets 
were  simply  piles  of  bricks  and  broken  stones, 
mingled  here  and  there  with  remains  of  bodies 
and  torn  clothing.  A  few  houses  stood  intact 
for  on  their  doors  was  the  magic  chalk  mark  that 
good  people  lived  there — ^in  other  words  Ger- 
mans, or  at  least  German  sympathisers,  or  still 
worse,  spies.    The  churches  and  convents  were 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  ^3 

ruthlessly  destroyed  and  this  was  not  because  the 
churches  being  usually  high  were  places  of  ob- 
servation, for  in  one  case  the  little  low  built 
chapel  in  the  square  surrounded  by  the  houses 
-of  the  old  women  who  were  supported  by  the  town 
was  burned,  though  it  could  offer  no  possible 
point  for  observation,  while  at  the  entrance  to 
the  square  was  the  chalked  order,  that,  as  only 
very  old  women  lived  there  the  houses  need  not 
be  destroyed.  The  Germans  seem  to  have  had 
the  idea  that  by  destroying  the  churches  they  were 
taking  the  heart  and  soul  from  the  people.  It 
is  one  of  their  many  great  psychological  mistakes. 
The  last  time  I  visited  Termonde  was  a  Sun- 
day two  or  three  days  after  the  most  recent  de- 
structive visit  made  by  the  Germans.  I  had  with 
great  difficulty  obtained  a  pass.  In  fact  it  was 
granted  only  by  explaining  how  necessary  it  was 
that  people  in  England  and  America  should 
know  exactly  what  was  happening  to  Belgium, 
so  that  they  could  help  in  whatever  ways  were 
possible,  and  that  I  would  send  or  take  these  pho- 
tographs directly  to  England.  It  made  one's 
heart  sick  to  see  the  misery  of  the  wretched  Ter- 
monde people.  They  seemed  to  be  stunned.  Of 
course  during  the  bombardment,  and  subsequent 
incendiary  work,  practically  all  of  the  inhabitants 


m  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

had  fled.  On  this  Sunday  the  country  seemed  so 
quiet  and  peaceful  that  they  returned  as  though 
in  hopes  that  it  had  all  been  a  dream,  and  they 
wandered  about  among  the  blackened  ruins  try- 
ing vainly  to  discover  what  had  but  a  few  hours 
before  been  their  homes.  What  had  they  done 
that  they  should  be  so  treated?  They  were  peace- 
ful people  working  only  that  they  might  live  in 
their  simple  homes.  Why  then  should  these  Ger- 
man devils  come  without  cause  or  provocation 
and  ruin  them?  One  nice  looking  woman,  who 
was  carrying  a  tiny  baby  in  her  arms,  pointed  to  a 
pile  of  bricks  and  said,  ''My  little  baby  was  born 
there  three  weeks  ago  and  now  I  have  not  even 
a  cradle  for  her.  My  God,  this  is  not  war,  this 
is  the  work  of  the  devils,"  and  she  was  right. 

As  I  wandered  through  the  scene  of  desolation 
I  came  upon  a  building,  two-thirds  of  which  had 
fallen,  and  its  walls  were  pitted  with  shot.  All 
that  remained  was  a  small  wine  and  coffee  shop. 
A  voice  called  as  I  passed,  "Come  in,  you  are 
a  friend — you  are  English.  Have  a  cup  of  cof- 
fee. It  is  all  I  have  left  to  offer,  but  you  are 
welcome  to  it." 

I  accepted  the  welcome  refreshment  from  the 
old  couple  who  were  happy  to  find  even  a  part  of 
their  house  more  or  less  intact.    When  I  offered 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  25 

to  pay  for  the  coffee  they  refused  to  accept  any 
money  saying  that  soon  the  English  were  coming 
over  to  help  them  and  they  would  then  be  happy. 
Poor  people,  I  wonder  what  has  become  of  them 
and  if  they  are  still  waiting  for  the  help  they  were 
expecting  over  three  years  ago. 

After  crossing  the  river  where  my  car  was 
waiting  I  engaged  in  conversation  with  a  Belgian 
officer  who  told  me  how  the  soldiers  had  done  all 
in  their  power  to  protect  the  to^vn.  The  odds 
against  them  were  overwhehning.  He  pointed 
with  pride  to  the  decapitated  tower  of  the  Place 
de  Ville,  It  appears  that  the  Germans  had  man- 
aged to  place  a  machine  gun  in  the  belfry  and  it 
must  have  been  a  difficult  task.  I  had  been  up 
there  only  a  couple  of  days  earlier  and  had  great 
difficulty  in  getting  my  camera  up  to  the  top. 
The  officer  who  was  in  the  field  artillery  told  his 
men  that  he  wanted  the  gun  destroyed.  Two 
shots  striking  simultaneously  cut  off  the  upper 
half  of  the  tower  completely  and  with  it  the  ma- 
chine gun  and  crew.  This  same  officer  told  how 
two  German  officers  wishing  to  examine  carefully 
the  river  banks,  came  out  in  the  open  street, 
carrying  in  their  arms  a  baby,  evidently  hoping 
by  this  means  to  protect  themselves.  A  man  who 
was  an  expert  shot  was  detailed  to  attend  to  the 


26  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

case  with  the  result  that  the  officer  carrying  the 
baby  was  shot  through  the  head.  The  baby 
escaped  unhurt  while  the  second  officer  hurriedly 
sought  the  nearest  shelter. 

It  was  some  days  after  this  visit  to  Termonde 
that  in  company  with  my  friend  Arthur  H.  Glea- 
son  (whose  splendid  unselfish  work  in  Belgium 
and  France  is  well  known)  I  visited  a  convent  in 
which  I  had  been  told  there  was  a  young  girl 
who  had  been  terribly  maltreated  by  German 
soldiers.  She  was  lying  then  at  the  point  of 
death,  a  victim  of  some  twenty  human  devils,' 
who  forced  the  father  and  mother  to  be  present 
that  they  might  witness  their  daughter's  ruin. 
This  is  not  a  nice  subject  to  write  about,  and  I 
merely  touch  on  it  to  show  one  of  the  causes  of 
my  joining  the  army. 

Near  Ghent  is,  or  rather  was,  the  little  village 
of  Melle.  It  happened  to  be  in  the  way  ox  the 
German  army  of  invasion.  Early  one  morning 
reports  came  into  Ghent  that  severe  fighting  was 
in  progress.  My  car  not  being  available  I  hired 
a  carriage  to  which  was  more  or  less  attached 
a  dilapidated  horse,  and  which  took  us  along  the 
road  toward  Melle.  We  passed  numbers  of  Bel-i 
gian  soldiers,  ill  equipped  but  always  cheerful, 
going  forward.    Also  numbers  of  wounded  meq 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  27 

being  brought  back.  They  were  in  all  sorts  of 
vehicles,  from  fine  motor  cars  to  springless  wag- 
gons, and  it  was  indeed  a  pitiful  sight.  Two  cases 
I  can  even  now  remember  clearly  were  men,  one 
with  his  lower  jaw  completely  shot  away,  and  the 
other  terribly  wounded  in  the  body,  lying  on  the 
top  of  an  old  fashioned  covered  carriage.  The 
inside  was  full  to  its  utmost  capacity  with  wound- 
ed. Every  jolt  over  the  rough  paved  roads  sent 
a  shock  of  pain  through  their  torn  bodies.  They 
endured  it  heroically,  for  it  was  better  than  fall- 
ing into  the  hands  of  the  Germans  whose  treat- 
ment of  Belgian  wounded  was  in  so  many  cases 
absolutely  brutal.  But  v/hat  a  contrast  were 
these  makeshift  vehicles  to  the  ambulances  of  the 
present  time,  pneumatic  tired  and  smooth  run- 
ning, and  equipped  with  stretchers,  on  which  the 
w^ounded  are  borne  with  the  minimum  of  pain. 
Conditions  have  greatly  changed  since  those  days 
of  trial. 

By  the  time  we  had  gone  within  two  or  three 
miles  of  Melle  the  sounds  of  battle  filled  the  air. 
Not  battle  as  we  now  know  it  with  its  over- 
whelming voice  of  heavy  artillery,  but  chiefly  the 
rifle,  and  the  machine  gun  with  its  regular  rap- 
ping death-dealing  shots.  'Now  and  then  light 
artillery  punctuated  the  sound,  and  we  wondered 


28  WHBN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

whether  this  meant  that  the  Germans  were  ad- 
vancing on  Ghent.  No  one  seemed  to  know  much 
of  what  was  going  on.  The  peasants  stood  about 
in  silent  groups,  worried  at  the  prospect  of  what 
fate  had  in  store  for  them.  Some  few  went  on 
with  their  regular  work  apparently  deaf  to  the 
unceasing  clatter  of  shot.  It  did  not  seem  advis- 
able for  us  to  proceed  any  further  along  the  road 
by  carriage,  so,  much  to  the  driver's  relief,  for 
he  thought  we  were  urging  him  straight  into  the 
jaws  of  death,  we  told  him  to  hide  his  vehicle  in 
a  narrow  alley,  and  leaving  the  motion  picture 
camiera  in  his  care  we  walked  forward  armed  only 
with  a  small  pocket  camera. 

Before  long  the  glint  of  a  lance  caught  our 
eyes,  and  we  saw  what  we  thought  was  a  German 
Uhlan  peering  from  am.ong  the  trees  at  the  en- 
trance of  a  big  estate.  He  was  about  800  yards 
distant.  How  strange  it  was  to  see  this  silent  evi- 
dence of  the  war,  this  human  being  stalking  his 
o\\Ti  kind.  It  gave  me  a  curious  thrill  of  excite- 
ment for  it  was  practically  the  first  time  I  had 
been  hunted  by  a  soldier,  a  man  trained  to  hunt 
his  fellow  m^an.  And  I  was  among  those  he  was 
watching.  He  was  dressed  in  the  elusive  gTey- 
green  uniform  of  the  German  army,  and  the 
colours  blended  among  the  trees  so  that  he  v/as 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  29 

scarcely  visible.  Silently  he  had  come  and  as 
silently  he  vanished  from  our  view. 

After  he  had  disappeared  we  looked  further 
along  the  road  and  saw  clearly  a  group  of  cav- 
alry, all  carrying  their  long  tubular  lances.  Be- 
ing filled  with  curiosity  we  wanted  a  nearer 
view,  and  decided  to  walk  slowly  in  their  direc- 
tion. Before  we  had  advanced  more  than  three  or 
Jour  hundred  yards  we  were  startled  by  the  clatter 
of  horses'  hoofs  behind  us,  and  turning  we  were 
very  much  upset  by  seeing  three  mounted  men  in 
field  green  uniforms  following  us.  It  was  too 
late  to  attempt  concealment  and  v/e  dared  not 
turn  back.  The  only  possible  course  was  to  con- 
tinue forward  as  though  we  were  not  afraid, 
though  I  do  not  mind  confessing  I  was  so  thor- 
oughly frightened  that  my  knees  trembled  vio- 
lently. Before  we  had  gone  far  the  three  hussars, 
as  they  turned  out  to  be,  overtook  us  and  w^anted 
to  know  who  we  were  and  what  we  Vv^ere  doing. 
I  acknowledged  myself  an  Englishman  while  my 
friend  said  he  was  American,  whereupon  one  of 
the  three  spoke  to  us  in  good  English,  and  told  us 
he  had  been  in  New  York  for  some  years. 

All  this  time  we  were  approaching  the  cross 
roads  while  we  talked  in  quite  a  friendly  way 
about  New  York.    As  we  drew  near  to  the  group 


80  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

of  about  a  dozen,  which  proved  to  be  of  the  same 
regiment  as  our  escorts,  our  three  formed  up,  one 
on  either  side,  and  one  behind,  and  I  had  horrible 
thoughts  of  what  might  be  in  store  for  us.  We 
were  taken  before  the  officer  who  on  hearing  our 
nationaHties  addressed  us  in  perfect  Enghsh.  He 
was  most  polite  and  told  us  that  for  a  number  of 
years  he  had  lived  in  England,  had  been  to  Ox- 
ford, and  finished  by  saying  that  he  hoped  the 
war  would  soon  end  as  he  was  very  much  attached 
to  English  life  and  was  most  anxious  to  get  back 
to  his  friends  there.  He  declared  that  he  thor- 
oughly disliked  the  idea  of  fighting  us  but  that 
he  had  been  recalled,  and  could  not  do  other  than 
obey.  Altogether  he  seemed  a  thoroughly  decent 
sort  of  Saxon.  We  asked  whether  we  could  go 
forward  as  we  both  were  very  anxious  to  see  a 
fight. 

*'You  can't  go  yet,"  he  replied,  "as  you  would 
most  certainly  be  shot,  but  later,  when  things 
have  quieted  down,  you  may  perhaps  be  able  to 
go  with  safety,  and  by  the  way  do  you  happen  to 
have  any  cigarettes,  I  have  not  had  a  decent 
smoke  for  a  week?'' 

So  I  handed  him  a  nearly  full  box,  telling  him 
to  keep  them,  for  I  fully  expected  to  be  back  in 
Ghent  within  a  few  hours.    I  then  asked  if  he 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  31 

had  any  objection  to  my  taking  a  photograph 
of  him  and  his  men.  He  did  not  object  at  all,  in 
fact  he  was  very  much  pleased. 

"Don't  forget  to  send  me  prints  after  the  war," 
he  said,  as  he  wrote  his  name  and  address  on  the 
envelope  containing  my  passport. 

*'I  shall  be  delighted  to  do  so  only,  of  course, 
there  won't  be  any  Germans  left  when  we  have 
finished  with  you." 

He  replied,  *'You  mean  there  won't  be  any 
Enghsh  left." 

How  little  either  of  us  realised  what  was  be- 
fore us,  and  how  soon  that  war  would  develop 
into  such  gigantic  proportions.  That  it  would 
last  even  until  Christmas  of  that  year  did  not 
seem  probable,  for  we  in  general  knew  nothing 
on  the  subject.  We  all  thought  that  with  mod- 
ern methods  conditions  would  be  made  so  intoler- 
able that  no  country  could  endure  the  slaughter 
which  apparently  must  result.  Only  those  who 
were  in  high  command,  and  who  had  studied  the 
subject,  understood  that  there  was  a  probability 
of  the  war  continuing  for  many  years.  Did  not 
people  regard  Lord  Kitchener  as  a  pessimist 
when  he  said  we  must  prepare  for  at  least  three 
years?     That  period  has  passed  and  the  end  is 


sa  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

not  yet  in  sight.  But  to  go  back  to  our  interview 
with  the  Saxon  officer. 

By  half  past  three  the  sounds  of  fighting  had 
subsided.  Only  an  occasional  shot  disturbed  the 
stillness  of  the  afternoon.  We  were  told  that 
it  would  be  reasonably  safe  to  go  forward  and 
foolishly  enough  we  went.  Our  way  led  us 
through  a  small  one-street  village  which  had  not 
been  molested.  The  people  stood  about  in  groups 
talking  over  what  had  been  going  on  in  the  near- 
by village  of  Melle,  and  we  gathered  from  what 
they  said  that  the  place  had  been  completely  de- 
stroyed, and  a  great  many  civilians  and  troops 
killed.  While  pressing  along  the  road  between 
the  two  villages  a  German  sentry  warned  us  not 
to  walk  on  the  paved  part  as  he  said  it  was  mined. 
Why  he  let  us  pass  I  cannot  understand,  but  he 
asked  no  questions.  Evidently  he  imagined  that 
we  had  a  right  to  be  there. 

Soon  we  came  on  signs  of  the  recent  conflict, 
buildings  burned  or  destroyed  by  shell,  bodies  of 
Belgian  troops  and  occasional  peasants  in  civilian 
garb,  lying  about  in  the  queer  distorted  attitudes 
so  common  on  the  battlefield.  Here  and  there 
the  carcass  of  a  cow  or  a  pig  lay  across  the  road, 
often  with  the  body  of  a  soldier  lying  against  it 
showing  that  the  man  had  been  foolish  enough 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  83 

to  trust  to  the  soft  body  for  protection  against 
the  enemy's  bullet. 

All  that  remained  of  the  village  of  Melle  was 
the  row  of  slowly  burning  cottages.  A  truly 
desolate  sight.  I  was  in  the  act  of  securing  a 
photograph  of  the  scene,  in  the  foreground  of 
which  lay  a  poor  Belgian  soldier  slowly  burning, 
when  a  German  cyclist  approached  without  my 
seeing  him.  Quickly  dismounting  he  seized  my 
camera,  and  was  about  to  break  it,  when  I  made 
him  understand  that  it  contained  the  photograph 
of  one  of  his  officers.  At  first  he  seemed  incredu- 
lous, but  on  being  shown  the  name  and  address 
written  in  the  officer's  own  handwriting  he  some- 
what reluctantly  handed  back  the  camera.  But 
strange  to  say,  he  did  not  seem  in  the  least  sur- 
prised and  never  even  asked  us  what  we  were 
doing. 

Had  we  possessed  a  particle  of  intelligence  we 
would  have  been  satisfied  with  what  we  had  seen 
and  returned,  instead  of  which  we  very  foolishly 
continued  on  the  road  to  trouble  with  the  result 
that  within  a  few  minutes  we  were  taken  prison- 
ers by  a  number  of  soldiers,  who,  asking  no  ques- 
tions, led  us  straight  to  their  officers. 

The  prospect  looked  very  dark  and  I  must 
confess  to  having  experienced  a  most  disagree- 


Q4i  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

able  sinking  sensation  in  the  region  of  my  heart. 
That  we  should  come  out  of  it  alive  did  not  seem 
possible.  I,  at  any  rate,  was  an  Englishman, 
and  had  been  seen  trying  to  use  a  camera  in  a 
region  that  could  not  by  any  stretch  of  imagina- 
tion be  considered  healthy  for  photographic  work. 
The  interrogations  to  which  we  were  subjected 
by  the  group  of  ferocious  unsmiling  officers  were 
brief.  Gleason  said  he  was  an  American  out 
on  newspaper  work,  while  I  proclaimed  my 
British  nationality,  showed  my  imposing  pass- 
port, and  said  that  a  thirst  for  knowledge  and 
a  roving  disposition  had  brought  me  to  Belgium 
to  look  on.  The  Germans  have  no  sense  of 
humour.  They  never  so  much  as  smiled,  but 
brusquely  ordered  us  both  into  a  field  and  placed 
us  under  guard.  Apparently  we  were  not  to  be 
shot — just  yet.  Pretty  soon  a  couple  of  large 
motors  came  along  filled  with  a  grand  array 
of  German  staff  officers.  They  stopped  near  us 
and  began  discussing  the  name  of  the  village 
which  their  troops  had  so  thoroughly  destroyed. 
Evidently  there  were  several  different  opinions, 
and,  strange  to  say,  I  was  called  up  and  asked  the 
name.  I  told  them  quite  truthfully  that  I  was  a 
stranger,  and  so  I  was  dismissed,  and  not  even 
thanked  for  giving  such  valuable  information. 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  35 

Life  was  getting  to  be  very  monotonous  and 
we  could  elicit  no  information  from  our  silent 
guards.  Once  an  officer  came  by  and  we  asked 
him  if  we  could  go  as  we  were  tired  of  doing 
nothing.  His  only  reply  was  a  growl  which 
seemed  to  mean,  "No,  damn  you,"  so  we  stayed. 
With  the  approach  of  evening  other  prisoners 
were  added  to  the  haul  until  we  numbered  nearly 
thirty.  The  newcomers  being  all  Belgians  who 
like  ourselves  imagined  they  were  doomed  to 
decorate  the  front  of  a  convenient  wall.  Under 
the  circumstances  they  were  fairly  cheerful, 
though  there  was  no  undue  hilarity  noticeable. 

Shortly  before  sunset  we  were  greatly  inter- 
ested in  watching  the  German  troops  arrive,  some 
15,000  in  all.  Everything  was  done  in  the  most 
orderly  manner.  Their  neat  bivouac  tents  were 
arranged  in  straight  lines.  ^  Their  camp-cookers 
came  up,  and  rations  were  distributed  in  a  most 
business-like  way.  Few  commands  were  given 
and  those  in  a  surly,  bullying  tone.  Some  of  the 
officers  carried  small  whips  with  them,  evidently 
with  the  idea  of  accentuating  orders.  What  a 
marked  contrast  to  the  way  our  officers  treat  their 
men! 

The  troops  were  extremely  well  clothed  and 
equipped  but  were  by  no  means  a  cheerful  lot. 


36  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

There  was  none  of  that  jolly  banter  that  is  al- 
ways to  be  found  among  our  fellows.  Not  even 
any  of  that  inevitable  good-natured  grumbling 
in  which  our  men  always  indulge,  especially  when 
there  happens  to  be  no  reason  for  it.  I  have  al- 
ways noticed  that  the  British  Tommy's  grum- 
bling, or  grousing,  as  he  prefers  to  call  it,  is  in  in- 
verse ratio  to  cause.  In  other  words  the  more 
comfortable  he  is  the  more  he  complains,  while 
when  everything  is  miserable,  when  it  pours  with 
rain,  when  the  twelve-mile  march  measures 
twenty,  even  v/hen  his  rations  fail  to  turn  up  at 
the  proper  hour,  he  searches  thoroughly  for 
whatever  there  may  be  of  a  funny  side  to  the 
situation,  and  promptly  blossoms  forth  into  song 
and  jest — all  of  which  is  a  Godsend,  and  helps  so 
greatly  to  make  the  burdens  as  light  as  possible. 
The  German  soldiers  struck  us  as  perfectly 
trained  but  rather  dull,  and  altogether  too  quiet. 
The  food  served  to  them  from  the  camp  cookers 
was,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  a  thick  stew  which 
smelt  rather  good.  There  was  also  a  hot  bever- 
age, which  I  suppose  was  coffee,  but  our  hosts 
were  thoroughly  inhospitable,  and  never  offered 
us  any  sort  of  refreshment,  though  I  would ihave 
given  a  good  deal  for  a  drink  of  cold  water. 
Shortly  before  dark  we  were  moved  forward, 


IN  BELGroM— A  PRISONER  0T 

and  placed  immediately  behind  a  long  straight 
freshly  made  trench.  This  was  scarcely  three 
feet  deep,  and  the  parapet  about  two  feet  high, 
composed  of  earth  and  coils  of  wire,  taken  from 
a  nearby  concrete  factory.  In  the  trench  the  men 
placed  a  lot  of  straw  taken  from  a  poor  peasant'iS 
wheat  stack,  and  there  they  slept  with  theu'  rifles 
all  laid  on  the  parapet. 

How  strangely  unlike  the  trench  methods  of 
to-day!  Around  us  a  strong  guard  was  placed, 
with  one  sentry  in  the  centre  of  our  little  group. 
To  make  sure  that  we  would  not  escape  a  lantern 
was  hung  so  that  we  could  be  easily  watched. 
The  extraordinary  precautions  for  our  safety 
struck  us  as  comical  and  I  even  ventured  to  laugh 
whereupon  I  received  strict  injunctions  that 
laughing  was  forbidden.  We  were  forced  to  lay 
flat,  and  the  space  allowed  was  so  small  that  we 
were  actually  on  top  of  each  other,  and  were  mis- 
erably uncomfortable  and  very  cold.  One  human 
sort  of  sentry  slipped  a  sheaf  of  oats  to  me  and 
it  made  life  more  endurable,  besides  furnishing 
pie  with  food,  for  I  peeled  the  husks  and  ate  the 
grain.  My  light  breakfast  of  the  early  morning 
was  so  very  remote  that  my  stomach  had  com- 
pletely forgotten  it. 

One  thing  which  rather  disturbed  our  equanim- 


38  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

ity  was  the  fact  that,  so  far  as  we  could  under- 
stand, we  were  to  be  used  as  a  shield  to  protect 
our  captors  on  their  march  into  Ghent.  I  am 
not  usually  very  particular  as  to  what  use  I 
can  make  of  myself,  but  the  prospect  of  having 
the  honour  of  leading  the  Huns  did  not  appeal  to 
me  from  any  point  of  view.  In  fact,  without  any 
suggestion  of  untruthfulness,  I  may  say  that  I 
thoroughly  disliked  the  idea  of  being  a  human 
shield,  for  I  knew  how  well  the  Belgians  shot. 
However,  there  was  a  funny  side  to  it,  and  once 
again  I  laughed  with  very  nearly  disastrous  re- 
sults. 

Our  hosts  did  not  omit  the  customs  of  polite 
society  for  they  sent  an  officer  to  bid  us  *'good 
night"  and  "pleasant  dreams."  Translated,  his 
words,  or  growls,  were,  "If  any  one  of  you 
speaks,  gets  up  or  moves  you  will  ail  be  imme- 
diately shot."  We  replied  with  great  polite- 
ness, "Good  night,"  whereupon  he  glared  at  us 
most  ferociously  and  growled  some  rude  remarks 
which  lacerated  our  feelings  to  such  a  degree  that 
we  could  scarcely  refrain  from  a  burst  of 
laughter.  Fortunately,  however,  we  did  control 
our  features,  but  we  lamented  the  fact  that  the 
Germans  are  so  entirely  without  humour. 

That  night  was  one  that  must  live  in  my  mind 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  39 

SO  long  as  I  stay  on  this  troublesome  old  earth. 
Picture  the  scene  to  yourself:  a  small  group  of 
closely  -  huddled  -  probably-going-to-be-shot  hu- 
man beings,  very  thoroughly  surrounded  by  a 
portion  of  the  magnificence  of  the  gi^eat  German 
army,  all  in  full  battle  order.  On  our  right  a  row 
of  some  fifteen  burning  cottages,  the  red  glare 
from  which  painted  everything  in  fantastic  danc- 
ing patches  of  dull  red.  All  was  as  quiet  as  the 
poor  dead  bodies  that  lay  scattered  along  the 
road,  staring  with  unseeing  eyes  at  the  starlit 
heavens.  Behind  us,  beyond  the  groups  of  sleep- 
ing men  and  watching  sentries,  stood  the  remains 
of  several  corn  stacks  which  had  been  torn  apart 
to  furnish  bedding  for  the  men  (grain  was  not  so 
valuable  in  those  days,  and  wasteful  destruction 
'^as  the  order  of  the  day, — how  little  those  devas- 
tators foresaw  the  time  when  food  to  them  would 
be  more  precious  than  gold!) .  Beyond  these  rose 
the  pale  full  moon,  casting  its  cold  indefinite  col- 
oured light  on  the  objects  surrounding  us.  The 
contrast  of  that  cold  light  and  the  warm  glow  of 
the  fires  was  wonderful  and  the  bayonets  gleamed 
now  red  and  now  v/hite  in  the  varying  light.  It 
was  beautiful  but  it  did  not  seem  real.  It  was  a 
stage  setting  such  as  one  seldom  sees  in  nature, 
and  I  longed  to  put  it  on  canvas. 


40  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

The  dismal  crackling  of  the  burning  timber, 
and  the  peaceful  snoring  of  the  tired  troops,  were 
the  only  sounds,  save  the  occasional  groans  of  one 
of  the  Belgians  who  lay  next  to  me.  The  poor 
fellow  was  in  terrible  mental  agony.  He  lay 
there  never  for  a  moment  taking  his  eyes  from  the 
nearest  cottage  yet  saying  nothing  but  a  mut- 
tered heartrending,  "Mon  Dieu,  JMon  Dieu," 
every  now  and  then.  What  a  long,  long  night 
that  was  and  how  busy  our  thoughts  were. 
Among  other  things  I  wondered  what  would 
my  wife  and  children  say  if  they  could  see  m^? 
Would  I  see  them  again,  and  so  my  thoughts 
wandered  between  the  short  fitful  dozes. 

The  air  was  very  keen  and  I  wrapped  a  copy 
of  the  Times,  which  I  happened  to  have  in  my 
pockets,  around  my  legs  to  keep  out  the  cold 
wind.  With  the  first  glimpse  of  daylight  I  no- 
ticed that  the  headline  across  my  knees,  in  large 
black  type  was,  "Germ^an  Atrocities  in  Belgium." 
That  did  not  strike  me  as  a  healthy  thing  to 
display,  so  I  quietly  and  unobtrusively  buried 
it. 

In  the  dim  soft  light  of  the  early  morning,  when 
everything  was  painfully  quiet,  I  noticed  that 
my  unhappy  neighbour  stared  v/ith  renewed  in- 
tensity.   The  horror  and  pain  depicted  in  those 


IN  BELGIUM— A  PRISONER  41 

eyes  I  shall  never  forget,  and  what  was  the  cause 
of  the  increased  agony?  A  small  procession  lead- 
ing out  from  the  nearest  ruined  cottage.  Some 
black-robed  priests  were  carrying  five  stretchers 
on  each  of  which  lay  the  remains  of  human  beings, 
charred,  distorted  and  so  terribly  still.  The  poor 
man  broke  dov/n  at  the  sight  and  bursting  into 
bitter  tears  said : 

"There  goes  my  whole  family.  My  mother, 
my  wife  and  my  three  little  children.  Oh !  Holy 
Mother  of  God,  why  don't  they  kill  me  too?  I 
have  nothing  to  live  for." 

This  you  may  say  is  a  small  incident,  but  it  is 
typical  of  what  was  happening  all  over  Belgium 
and  must  surely  call  do^vn  the  curse  of  the  Al- 
mighty on  those  who  are  responsible  for  the  un- 
called-for misery  and  cruelty  which  characterised 
the  invasion  of  unoffending  Belgium. 

*     *     *     * 

Thanks  to  a  stroke  of  unexpected  good  fortune 
the  following  day  saw  us  safely  back  in  Ghent, 
but  our  troubles  were  not  entirely  past.  It  ap- 
peared that  some  Belgians  had  seen  us  going  to- 
ward the  German  cavalry  patrol,  and  had 
watched  us  go  with  them  on  the  road  to  Melle. 


42  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

With  some  reason  they  concluded  that  we  were 
spies,  and  it  reqinred  a  lot  of  explaining  before 
we  were  freed  from  the  suspicion.  The  fact  that 
we  had  been  living  in  a  German-owned  hotel,  and 
had  been  taking  our  meals  at  a  German  restau- 
rant did  not  help  our  cause.  I  need  scarcely  add 
that  we  had  no  idea  of  the  nationality  of  these 
places,  and  thought  they  must  be  all  right  as  they 
were  allowed  to  do  business  in  this  important 
Belgian  town. 


CHAPTER  II 

Wounded  at  Alost 

Nothing  worth  regarding  as  of  especial  in- 
terest occurred  during  the  next  week  or  two  so 
I  made  a  trip  home  and  stayed  there  three  or  four 
days  in  order  that  my  family  might  see  that  I 
was  still  alive.  Dame  Fortune  had  been  good  to 
me,  and  I  owed  it  to  her,  and  incidentally  to  my 
wife,  to  be  more  careful  in  the  future  than  I  had 
been  in  the  past  and  whatever  happened  not  again 
to  get  caught  by  the  Germans.  It  is  all  very  well 
to  play  the  fool  occasionally — it  keeps  one's  blood 
moving  and  prevents  that  terrible  disease  known 
as  vegetating,  but  to  make  a  practice  of  doing 
so  is  not  entirely  desirable,  as  the  old  Dame  who 
takes  care  of  fools,  objects  to  working  overtime 
and  lets  you  down  roughly  when  you  least  expect 
it. 

For  some  days  after  my  return  from  England 
nothing  very  exciting  occurred.  There  had  been 
some  minor  engagements  and  skirmishes  in  the 
neighbourhood  during  which  a  few  peasants  had 

43 


44  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

been  killed  and  a  number  of  farmhouses  burned. 

We  had  experienced  a  few  hours  of  interest 
when  out  in  search  of  a  certain  hospital  in  which, 
I  had  been  told,  a  brother  of  mine  lay  wounded. 
His  death  had  been  reported  at  home,  but  there 
seemed  room  for  considerable  doubt,  and  believ- 
ing that  all  reports  following  the  battle  of  Mons 
must  necessarily  be  more  or  less  unreliable,  I 
had  followed  various  clues,  one  of  which  was  that 
he  had  been  wounded  and  was  still  in  Belofium. 
The  place  was  a  fair  distance  from  Ghent,  so  I 
engaged  a  large  motor  and  a  driver  who  knew  the 
country.  As  we  proceeded  on  our  way,  disturb- 
ing rumours  of  raiding  Uhlans  being  in  the  im- 
mediate vicinity  continued  to  reach  us.  Added 
to  this  our  car  proved  to  have  very  defective  tyres 
and,  as  if  this  was  not  enough,  the  weather  became 
very  unruly.  The  wind  increased  to  a  gale  and 
flurries  of  rain  proclaimed  themselves  the  advance 
party  of  a  regular  downpour.  Stopping  at  a 
fair  sized  village  we  made  enquiries  regarding  the 
hospital  we  were  in  search  of,  and  learned  that 
it  had  been  completely  abandoned.  This  was 
very  unsatisfactory  and  left  us  no  alternative  but 
to  turn  back  with  the  hope  of  reaching  Ghent 
that  night. 

That  was  a  run  to  be  remembered.    Tyre  after 


WOUNDED  AT  ALOST  45 

tyre  burst,  while  the  rain  came  down  in  torrents. 
Finally  when  still  some  miles  from  Ghent  the 
chauffeur  announced  that  he  could  go  no  further. 
The  last  tyre  had  a  bad  blowout  and  we  had 
no  more  repair  material,  in  other  words  we  were 
done.  'Now  of  course  this  should  have  been  the 
moment  for  the  Uhlans  to  appear,  but  good  luck 
had  not  altogether  abandoned  us  and  they  did 
not  arrive.  We  pushed  the  car  to  the  side  of 
the  road  and  abandoned  it,  and  after  search- 
ing for  some  time  managed  to  find  a  man  who 
had  a  carriage  of  sorts  and  so,  dripping  wet, 
very  tired,  and  a  little  bit  discouraged,  we  got 
back  to  Ghent  late  that  night. 

During  these  weeks  at  Ghent  there  was  a 
steady  stream  of  refugees  from  the  stricken  areas. 
People  of  all  classes  driven  from  their  homes  by 
the  ruthless  Huns.  Many  of  these  unfortunates 
had  terrible  stories  to  tell.  Some  had  lost  their 
children  and  they  told  how  the  poor  little  innocent 
victims  had  been  carried  on  bayonets  by  the  sav- 
age brutes  of  soldiers.  Others  gave  ghastly  ac- 
counts of  how  the  wretched  women  had  been  mal- 
treated, how  some  had  had  their  breasts  cut  off 
and  nailed  to  the  doors,  as  a  warning  of  what 
would  happen  to  any  who  dared  oppose  the  will 
of  the  invader.    Others  had  been  violated  in  the 


46  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

most  brutal  manner  with  every  imaginable  re- 
finement of  torture.  It  made  one's  heart  ache 
to  hear  these  fearful  stories  and  to  know  that  a 
great  nation  which  had  been  considered  civilised 
should  stoop  to  such  a  barbarous  means  of  terror- 
ising a  peaceful  people  whose  only  crime  was  their 
faithfulness  to  their  own  small  and  almost  de- 
fenceless country.  Some  say  that  the  behaviour^ 
of  the  troops  was  due  to  drink  but  the  argument 
is  bad,  for  the  German  soldier  is  so  highly  dis- 
ciplined that  he  does  not  get  drunk  unless  he  is 
permitted  as  a  part  of  a  devilishly  conceived  plan. 
One  camiot  but  believe  that  in  many,  if  not  most 
cases,  the  soldiers  would  have  been  loath  to 
commit  the  atrocities  had  they  not  been  inflamed 
by  liquor,  and  there  are  some  instances  where  they 
even  refused  to  obey  their  officers  and  were  shot 
because  they  could  not  bring  themselves  to  go 
contrary  to  their  better  natures. 

One  day  I  met  an  English  officer,  Capt. , 

who  had  been  wounded  at  Mons  and  had,  thanks 
to  a  kindly  Belgian  nurse,  managed  to  make  his 
escape  from  a  temporary  hospital.  He  told  me 
that  when  he  lay  on  the  field  badly  wounded  he 
saw  a  German  army  doctor  or  under- doctor  ex- 
amine an  English  sergeant  who  was  shot  through 
the  leg.     After  binding  up  the  leg  wound  the 


WOUNDED  AT  ALOST  47 

brute  deliberately  fired  two  revolver  bullets 
through  the  man's  shoulder,  then  strange  as  it 
may  seem  he  bound  up  these  fresh  wounds  and 
had  the  victim  taken  to  a  hospital.    It  happened 

that  he  and  Capt.  were  put  in  the  same 

room.  The  unfortunate  sergeant  died  three  days 
later.  Surely  no  more  cold-blooded  murder  could 
have  been  committed.  Germany  imagined  at 
that  time  that  she  y/as  bound  to  win,  and  there- 
fore would  not  be  called  to  account  for  her  in- 
human behaviour,  and  the  violation  of  all  the 
rules  of  modern  warfare. 

Toward  the  end  of  September  there  v/as  some 
fairly  heavy  fighting  not  many  miles  from  Ghent. 
Unfortunately  we  were  prevented  from  getting 
to  it  thanks  first  to  the  unscrupulous  conduct  of 
a  certain  newspaper  correspondent  w^lio  by  unfair 
means  got  possession  of  the  car  we  had  engaged. 
It  was  a  great  disappointment  to  us  but  we  could 
do  nothing  except  take  a  carriage  which  was  a 
slow  and  very  unsatisfactory  substitute.  Hov/- 
ever,  with  this  we  should  have  been  able  to  ac- 
complish something  had  not  an  American  press 
man,  who  evidently  feared  we  would  steal  his 
thunder,  put  a  spoke  in  our  wheel  hj  telling  some 
queer  story  to  the  officers  who  had  their  headquar- 
ters behind  the  firing  line  at  a  place  which  could 


48  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

not  be  passed  without  their  sanction,  and  they 
absolutely  refused  to  honour  our  passes.  There 
was  nothing  for  it  but  to  return  to  Ghent,  where 
thanks  to  the  American  Consul  we  managed  to 
secure  a  good  car  and  chauffeur  for  the  following 
day,  when  we  made  an  early  start. 

The  fighting  was  on  the  road  to  Alost,  at  a 
village  whose  name  I  have  forgotten.  We  were 
armed  with  valuable  letters  that  would  take  us 
anywhere  we  wished  to  go.  These  and  a  lot  of 
English  illustrated  papers  (we  bought  up  all  the 
supply  in  Ghent)  and  plenty  of  cigarettes  for 
presents  did  wonders  and  we  met  with  no  opposi- 
tion.   In  fact,  we  were  received  with  open  arms. 

A  good  share  of  the  fighting  was  on,  and  near, 
the  main  road,  so  we  were  able  to  take  the  car 
right  into  the  firing  line.  On  our  way  we  passed 
s,  long  stream  of  refugees  trudging  with  what 
they  could  carry  toward  Ghent.  The  peasants 
who  were  on  the  Belgian  side  of  the  fighting  line 
were  scarcely  at  all  concerned,  but  continued 
their  every  day  pursuits,  totally  disregarding  the 
fire  of  artillery,  rifle  and  machine  ^uns.  When 
a  shell  would  tear  a  branch  from  a  tree  the  thrifty 
people  would  immediately  go  after  the  branch 
and  cut  it  up  for  firewood.  Their  coolness  was 
remarkable. 


WOUNDED  AT  ALOST  49 

It  happened  soon  after  we  had  reached  the 
Belgians'  advanced  position  that  they  decided  to 
retire  a  few  hundred  yards  to  where  their  artil- 
lery would  get  a  better  field  of  fire  on  the  slope 
of  a  low  hill.  As  they  turned  on  the  road  I 
managed  to  secure  some  cinema  films  of  both 
their  artillery  and  cavalry.  Curiously  enough 
they  had  no  infantry  further  forward. 

Having  used  up  the  spool  of  film  that  was  in 
the  camera  I  decided  to  reload  before  moving 
after  the  troops.  This  was  rather  unfortunate  as 
it  turned  out,  for  the  next  minute  the  Germans 
opened  up  a  steady  rifle  fire,  all  aimed  apparently 
at  the  car  which  presumably  they  mistook  for  a 
machine-gun  car.  The  first  few  shots  went  some- 
what wild  but  soon  they  came  unpleasantly  close, 
and  I  thought  it  safer  to  complete  the  loading  of 
the  camera  while  sitting  behind  the  row  of  trees 
which  lined  the  ditch  on  the  roadside.  For  nearly 
half  an  hour  we  were  unable  to  make  our  depar- 
ture as  the  bullets  were  cutting  the  bark  about 
our  heads.  The  Germans  were  only  about  500 
yards  away  and  yet  strange  to  say  they  never 
once  hit  the  car.  Nevertheless  it  was  to  say  the 
least  of  it  an  awkward  situation  for  us  to  be 
caught  between  the  Belgian  and  German  lines. 

During  a  momentary  lull  in  the  firing  we 


50  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

jumped  into  the  car  and  with  no  regard  to  the 
speed  laws  made  an  ignominious  retreat  until  we 
were  well  back  of  the  Belgian  front  line.  There 
was  no  object  in  remaining  much  longer  as  the 
fighting  was  dying  down.  On  the  whole  the  Ger- 
mans had  had  the  worst  of  it  and  had  lost  a  fairly 
large  number  of  men,  many  of  the  killed  being 
men  of  considerable  age  with  quite  grey  hair. 

The  next  day,  September  2Tth,  we  made  an 
early  start  as  we  were  told  that  there  was  every 
indication  of  severe  fighting  in  or  near  Alost. 
Before  we  had  gone  more  than  eight  or  nine 
miles  we  met  the  sad  procession  of  refugees  which 
marks  the  German  advance.  For  miles  it  was 
an  almost  unbroken  line  of  men  and  women  and 
children,  some  twenty  thousand,  all  told,  most  of 
them  walking,  or  rather  struggling  under  im- 
mense burdens  of  household  treasures, — a  more 
extraordinary  assortment  of  belongings  could 
scarcely  be  imagined!  The  younger  people 
seemed  quite  cheerful,  but  the  old  men  and 
women,  who  hobbled  along  laboriously,  were  ter- 
ribly downhearted,  for  well  they  realised  what  the 
exodus  meant,  and  to  be  torn  from  the  home  you 
have  known  from  infancy  is  a  hard  wrench, 
especially  when  it  is  practically  certain  that  the 
home  will  be  completely  destroyed.    No  wonder 


WOUNDED  AT  ALOST  51 

then  that  they  were  sad  and  murmured  bitter 
words  against  the  heartless  invaders.  In  the  pro- 
cession were  some  few  carriages  and  carts  piled 
high  with  everything  from  beds  to  pictures,  from 
people  too  infirm  to  walk  to  tiny  babies  sleeping 
peacefully  among  the  collection  of  household 
gods.  Carts  drawn  by  dogs  were  numerous,  and 
some  there  were  which  combined  horses  and  dogs 
for  their  motive  power.  On  one  side  of  the  road 
this  dreary  line  marched  northward,  many  of 
them  would  ultimately  reach  the  hospitable  shores 
of  England,  the  protector  of  small  nations ;  v/hile 
on  the  other  side,  going  south  towards  the  ever 
increasing  booming  of  guns  were  the  Belgian  sol- 
diers of  all  branches  of  the  army,  a  cheerful  lot 
who  cracked  jokes  with  the  refugees  and  told 
them  what  they  were  going  to  do  to  the  Ger- 
mans. They  were  a  strangely  hopeful  body  of 
men  who  did  not  realise  in  any  way  what  lay 
before  them. 

We  passed  one  particularly  jolly  crowd  and 
met  the  daredevil  soldier  who  only  a  short  time 
before  had  stolen  a  train  from  the  Germans.  He 
told  us  with  a  keen  sense  of  humour  how  he  had 
been  out  one  day  on  a  private  sniping  expedition, 
when  he  saw  an  empty  train  brought  to  a  siding 
where  there  were  a  number  of  German  troops. 


52  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

Being  a  locomotive  engineer  he  conceived  the 
bright  idea  of  making  off  with  the  train.  The 
Germans,  entirely  unsuspicious,  left  it  quite  un- 
guarded, so  he  carefully  crawled  along  the  ditch 
and  made  his  way  to  the  engine  and  started  it  off. 
At  first  it  did  not  occur  to  the  Germans  what  was 
happening.  Finally  they  realised  that  the  train 
had  been  stolen,  and  they  opened  a  perfectly 
harmless  rifle  fire.  Thanks  to  our  cheerful  friend's 
loiowledge  of  the  lines  he  managed  to  return  the 
train  to  its  rightful  owners,  the  Belgians. 

It  was  late  in  the  morning  when  finally  we 
reached  the  outskirts  of  Alost,  to  find  that  there 
was  considerable  artillery  activity  going  on.  The 
Germans  were  using  a  few  fairly  large  shells 
which  they  dropped  about  the  town  in  a  very  aim- 
less way.  We  could  see  no  definite  object  in  the 
attack  except  a  sort  of  general  idea  of  destruc- 
tion, while  the  Belgians  numbering  in  all  ap- 
parently about  10,000  were  trying  to  keep  pos- 
session of  the  town.  We  paid  our  respects  to  the 
I  General  commanding  the  operations  and  asked  if 
we  might  go  forward  to  w^here  the  fighting  v/ould 
be  most  active.  I  told  him  how  anxious  I  was  to 
get  some  moving  pictures  which  would  show  our 
people  how  well  the  Belgians  fought.  He  frankly 
expressed  the  opinion  that  I  was,  without  any 


WOUNDED  AT  ALOST  53 

doubt,  a  lunatic  (to  which  I  readily  agreed)  and 
that  if  he  gave  me  permission  to  go  forward  I 
should  probably  get  killed  and  blame  him.  He 
smiled  when  I  pointed  out  that  I  would  positively 
undertake  not  to  blame  him  in  the  event  of  my 
getting  killed,  and  so  he  allowed  us  both  to  go 
forward. 

The  town  of  Alost  was  in  a  state  of  semi-de- 
sertion. The  thousands  of  people  we  had  passed 
on  the  way  had  simply  closed  their  front  doors. 
Here  and  there  some  more  courageous  souls  re- 
mained in  their  homes,  notwithstanding  the  warn- 
ings they  had  received  from  the  troops.  The 
streets  were  occupied  by  scattered  lots  of  sol- 
diers, and  the  occasional  groups  of  civilians  who 
waited,  hoping  that  the  Germans  would  be  re- 
pelled, and  they  would  be  allowed  to  remain. 

When  we  asked  the  way  down  to  the  street 
where  the  staff  officers  told  us  the  fighting  was 
most  likely  to  take  place,  the  people  thought  us 
mad  and  said  we  would  surely  be  killed  if  we 
went  there.  However  we  finally  reached  the 
square  and  found  it  occupied  by  quite  a  fair  num- 
ber of  troops,  most  of  them  dismounted  lancers. 
There  were  also  a  few  machine  guns  arranged  to 
hold  the  various  converging  streets.  Just  what 
the  Germans  were  doing,  or  trying  to  do,  was 


64  WHEN  THE  SOMIME  RAN  RED 

diiBcult  to  understand.  Occasionally  the  singing 
of  a  shell  followed  by  terrific  detonation  disturbed 
the  otherwise  quiet  of  the  day.  These  shells 
seemed  to  be  fired  simply  at  the  town  in  general 
without  any  definite  target.  Some  dropped  in 
the  homes  for  old  w^omen,  others  on  buildings  of 
no  special  value,  all  doing  material  damage,  with- 
out gaining  any  military  advantage  beyond  show- 
ing the  citizens  that  it  was  wise  to  get  out  while 
yet  they  could. 

After  a  talk  w^ith  some  Belgian  ofiicers  we 
decided  to  go  down  toward  the  canal  v/ith  a  body 
of  the  dismounted  lancers  w^ho  were  to  hold  the 
canal  bridge.  With  them  came  two  armoured 
machine-gun  cars.  The  position  chosen  was  a 
small  street  in  which  about  fifty  yards  from  the 
canal  bridge  a  barricade  (composed  chieiiy  of 
barrels  of  fish)  was  hastily  thrown  across.  Here 
the  troops  ensconced  themselves,  v/hile  I,  select- 
ing a  suitable  place  v/hich  offered  a  good  view, 
assembled  my  "movie"  camera.  Evidently  the 
Germans  saw  it,  and  presumably  mistaking  it  for 
a  machine  gun,  began  to  be  ver^T-  disagreeable,  fir- 
ing a  number  of  shrapnel  shells.  These  all  went 
wide  of  the  mark  and  only  occasional  bullets  fell 
near  enough  to  be  picked  up  as  souvenirs.  The 
Belgians  called  them  "German  hail,"  and  were 


GERMAN    MITRAILLEUSE    (MACHINE   GUN)     CAPTURED   BY 
MEN    OF    THE    BELGIAN    CYCLE    CORPS 


WOUNDED  AT  ALOST  55 

much  amused  at  the  poor  shooting.  We  were 
laughing  at  it  all  when  suddenly  the  keen  whistle 
of  a  v/ell-directed  H.  E.  (high  explosive)  shell 
made  us  change  our  tune.  That  it  was  coming 
pretty  straight  there  could  be  no  doubt.  There 
was  equally  no  doubt  as  to  the  utter  impossibility 
of  doing  any  dodging.  One's  thoughts  move 
quickly,  and  I  remember  as  I  stood  flat  against 
the  door  near  which  the  camera  was  standing, 
wondering  whether  this  was  to  be  the  end  of  my 
Belgian  trip.  The  shell  struck  immediately  over 
my  head  and  I  felt  as  though  the  end  of  the  world 
had  come.  The  deafening  sound  of  the  explo- 
sion, the  falling  of  bricks  and  plaster  and  the 
choking  sensation  as  the  fumes  and  dust  v/ere 
swallowed  was  all  very  terrifying.  The  camera 
was  falling  and  I  instinctively  grabbed  at  it. 
Then  a  sharp  pain  stung  my  leg  and  I  thought 
it  must  be  broken.  But  on  kicking  it  about  I 
found  that  there  was  nothing  serious  the  matter, 
only  a  flesh  wound. 

The  whole  air  seemed  full  of  confusion,  for  sev- 
eral more  shells  were  coming  and  it  seemed  as 
though  I  ought  to  be  making  photographs,  so  in 
spite  of  being  rather  stunned,  and  almost  blinded, 
I  took  the  camera  to  the  other  side  of  the  street, 
and  proceeded  to  turn  the  crank,  and  got  a  few 


56  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

feet  of  film,  though  I  could  not  see  what  I  was 
getting.  The  handle  had  only  been  turned  a  few 
times  when  in  the  midst  of  the  turmoil  I  heard 
the  Belgians  retiring  at  the  double,  and  with  them 
came  the  snorting  machine-gun  cars.  Retreating 
apparently  was  the  fashionable  form  of  amuse- 
ment, so  wishing  to  keep  in  the  fashion,  and  not 
caring  to  be  left  alone,  I  also  retreated,  camera 
and  all,  and  well  it  was  that  I  did  so  for  the  next 
shell,  a  large  one,  landed  within  a  few  yards  of 
where  I  had  been  standing.  It  would  have  very 
effectively  cured  my  taste  for  adventure  had  I 
remained  a  few  seconds  longer.  It  is  perhaps 
superfluous  for  me  to  say  that  I  felt  badly 
shaken  and  generally  much  the  worse  for  wear. 
iYet  fortunately  I  v/as  able  to  keep  going  for  some 
time  and  secured  a  few  interesting  films. 

While  in  the  to^n  square,  after  the  retreat 
from  the  canal,  a  party  of  Belgian  cyclists  volun- 
teered to  silence  a  certain  German  machine  gun 
which  was  doing  a  lot  of  damage.  They  were 
given  permission,  and  half  an  hour  later  returned, 
bringing  with  them  the  troublesome  gun.  To 
say  they  were  delighted  scarcely  expresses  it. 
It  appears  that  they  were  residents  of  the  town 
and  knew  intimately  the  building  in  which  the 
gun  had  been  hidden.     By  going  through  back 


WOUNDED  AT  ALOST  57 

lanes  and  cellars  they  had  come  on  the  gun  crew 
quite  noiselessly,  and — well,  anyway,  they 
brought  the  gun  back,  and  v/ere  none  the  worse 
for  the  experience.  This  I  may  say  is  very  typical 
of  the  way  in  which  the  Belgian  soldier  likes  to 
do  things.  He  seems  to  like  individual  jobs,  and 
can  usually  be  relied  upon  to  give  a  very  good 
account  of  himself. 

The  rest  of  the  events  of  that  day  were  very  in- 
distinct and  hazy  in  my  mind.  I  can  remember 
seeing  black-robed  priests  walking  and  cycling 
into  wherever  the  fighting  was  thickest  and  nuns, 
too,  all  bound  on  their  errands  of  mercy,  giving 
what  aid  they  could  to  the  wounded  and  dying, 
caring  nothing  for  their  own  safety.  Indeed,  the 
unselfish  work  done  by  these  good  people 
throughout  Belgium  stands  out  with  glorious 
clearness,  and  they  sacrificed  their  lives  without 
a  murmur,  satisfied  only  to  be  able  to  follow  out 
the  teachings  of  their  sacred  calling,  to  do  what- 
ever good  lay  in  their  power  without  thought  for 
themselves. 

This  day  at  Alost  was  my  last  one  in  Bel- 
gium. The  effect  of  the  shell  began  to  tell,  and, 
realising  that  I  was  in  for  trouble,  it  seemed  wise 
to  make  all  haste  for  England.  It  was  very  hard 
luck  having  to  give  up  just  then,  for  only  a  day 


58  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

or  two  before  I  had  succeeded  in  obtaining  passes 
which  would  have  allowed  me  to  go  to  Antwerp 
and  do  photographic  work  during  its  bombard- 
ment, which  unfortunately  seemed  so  imminent. 
But  perhaps  it  was  all  for  the  best  that  for  two 
months  I  was  laid  up  as  a  result  of  the  overdose 
acquaintance  with  the  high  explosive,  for  the 
Antwerp  shov/  turned  more  disastrously  than  any 
one  could  have  foreseen,  and  I  might  have  found 
it  difficult  to  get  away.  Still  I  remember  how 
terribly  disappointed  I  was  when  the  doctor  told 
me  that  Antwerp  had  fallen,  and  I  was  lying 
helpless  in  bed.  Ghent,  too,  was  in  the  hands  of 
the  Germans,  and  so  was  my  "movie"  camera 
which  I  had  left  in  a  small  hotel.  There  was 
nothing  to  do  but  get  well  as  soon  as  possible, 
so  that  I  might  join  the  army  and  pay  back  my 
debts  to  the  Germans.  Recovery  occupied  over 
two  months,  while  the  payment  of  the  various 
debts  will  never  be  completely  settled. 


CHAPTEK  III 

In  England,  From  Civilian  to  Soldies 

On  December  14th,  1914,  I  paid  my  very  first 
visit  to  tliat  great  institution  the  "Vfar  Ofiice" 
and  offered  my  services  to  my  King  and  Country. 
Owing  to  the  fact  that  I  was  about  six  years  past 
the  age  limit  my  chances  of  being  accepted  were 
very  siriall.  Eut  I  assured  the  powers  that  were, 
that  if  they  v/ould  not  accept  me  when  I  made  a 
truthful  statement  of  my  age  I  would  visit  a 
beauty  parlour,  have  my  face  rejuvenated,  and 
come  back  with  a  falsified  age.  After  some  con- 
sideration and  taking  into  account  the  fact  that 
I  had  lived  outdoors  all  my  life,  hunting  and 
studying  w^ild  animals  in  various  parts  of  the 
world,  I  was  sent  down  to  be  medically  examined 
before  a  decision  was  made.  The  result  of  the 
said  medical  examination  being  quite  satisfactory 
I  was  promised  a  commission  as  soon  as  I  had 
gone  through  training  in  an  O.  T.  C.  (Officer's 
Training  Corps).    So  far  so  good. 

Next  came  the  getting  into  the  O.  T.  C.    At 

59 


60  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

first  they  ridiculed  the  idea  on  account  of  age,  but 
after  a  little  persuasion  I  got  in.  Shall  I  ever 
forget  those  months  of  training!  Being  com- 
pletely ignorant  of  all  drill  the  reader  may  well 
imagine  what  I  went  through.  Whatever  con- 
ceit had  existed  in  my  composition  was  totally 
and  very  thoroughly  removed.  I  became  the 
wormiest  of  worms,  the  kind  that  did  not  dare 
turn.  I  perspired,  or  I  should  say  sweated  (be- 
cause only  officers  are  allowed  to  perspire,  pri- 
vates sweat)  out  of  sheer  fright  when  I  made 
glaring  mistakes.  At  first  we  drilled  in  London 
(I  was  in  the  Inns  of  Court  O.  T.  C.  known  as 
the  "Devil's  Own"),  and  were  duly  stared  at  by 
the  ever  curious  and  that  of  course  made  me 
extra  nervous. 

Then  came  the  move  to  the  camp  out  in  the 
country  and  here  the  Regimental  Sergeant  Ma- 
jor, the  terror  of  the  "rooky,"  got  in  his  very  good 
work.  He  searched  diligently  for  any  traces  of 
conceit  in  each  one  of  us,  and  when  he  found  it 
proceeded,  w^th  great  gallantry  and  dash,  to 
launch  his  attack.  The  result  was  withering. 
Some  poor  fellows  fainted  under  the  ordeal.  Of 
course  it  was  not  long  before  I  gave  him  an  op- 
portunity for  personal  remarks.  I  made  a  mis- 
take, or  to  be  more  correct  some  one  else  made 


FROM  CIVILIAN  TO  SOLDIER  61 

the  mistake,  and  it  placed  me  out  of  my  proper 
position.  Not  being  quick  enough  to  grasp  the 
situation  I  stood  firm  in  a  place  where  I  should 
not  have  been.  Suddenly  six  feet  tv/o  inches  (it 
looked  like  fifteen  feet)  of  very  straight  Sergeant 
Major  loomed  up  directly  in  front  of  me,  and  a 
voice  like  an  ocean-going  steamship  foghorn  bel- 
.owed  for  the  whole  world  to  hear  "You  blithering 
idiot !  What  the  H do  you  think  you're  do- 
ing, having  your  photograph  taken?"  etc.,  etc., 
etc.,  etc.  He  wanted  me  to  answer  him  back 
when  he  would  really  and  truly  have  laid  me  out, 
but  I  had  not  been  born  in  the  army,  and  had  all 
my  family  in  it,  for  nothing.  With  great  bravery 
,(for  I  was  much  too  frightened  to  do  anything 
else),  I  stood  fast  at  rigid  attention  and  stared, 
unseeing  past  the  great  man.  What  were  my 
thoughts  during  this  ordeal?  My  sense  of  hu- 
mour was  most  dangerously  tickled,  and  I  had 
the  utmost  difficulty  in  keeping  my  face  straight. 
What  would  have  happened  had  I  laughed,  good- 
ness only  knows.  But  there  I  was,  a  man  between 
forty  and  fifty  years  old,  accustomed  to  being 
treated  with  respect,  to  governing  instead  of 
being  governed,  being  "cussed"  by  a  man  w^ho  or- 
dinarily would  have  had  to  say  "sir"  in  speaking 
to  me,  and  yet,  was  not  this  part  of  that  great 


62  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

thing  called  discipline,  the  thing  that  is  the  key- 
note of  a  soldier's  successful  training,  without 
which  soldiers  are  little  more  than  unruly  mobs. 
All  this  passed  through  my  mind  as  I  accepted 
my  "dressing  down"  and  I  felt  not  the  slightest 
resentment. 

For  the  time  being  I  was  IT  while  the  other 
rookies  smiled.  But  soon  another  fellow  was 
attacked  and  he,  foolishly,  tried  to  exculpate  him- 
self, to  explain  how  and  why  it  was  he  had  made 
a  certain  mistake.  This  was  what  the  R.  S.  M. 
was  looking  for  and  he  "did  himself  proud."  The 
very  earth  shook  with  his  roars  as  he  explained 
with  unwonted  vigour  what  he  and  all  other  de- 
cent soldiers  thought  of  the  man  who  presumed 
to  "answer  back,"  and  we  all  stood  smartly  to 
attention,  the  bitter  winter  wind  nearly  freezing 
us,  while  we  tried  our  best  to  keep  our  faces  from 
any  indication  of  smiles.  I  may  add  that  no  one 
in  that  company  ever  again  attempted  to  explain 
his  mistakes  to  the  K.  S.  M.  on  parade.  Off 
parade  v/e  could  be  sure  of  a  most  kindly  wel- 
come. Advice  and  help  were  given  generously, 
for  he  was  a  splendid  fellow  and  he  taught  me 
very  many  valuable  lessons. 

For  nearly  three  months  I  remained  in  the 
O.  T.  C.    We  started  work  each  day  long  before 


FROM  CIVILIAN  TO  SOLDIER  63 

dawn,  when  the  roll  was  read  out  by  the  aid  of 
an  electric  torch  while  we  stood  and  shivered  in 
the  bitter  cold,  and  woe  betide  the  man  who  was 
late,  and  we  worked  all  day.  When  we  were  not 
drilling,  or  attending  lectures,  or  digging 
trenches,  we  were  cleaning  our  boots  or  our  rifles, 
for  on  each  parade  we  had  to  appear  smartly 
turned  out,  and  as  it  rained  every  day  except 
when  it  snowed,  keeping  ourselves  and  our  rifles 
clean  was  not  an  easy  task.  Then  we  had  those 
joyous  'night  opps"  (night  operations)  when 
we  fought  very  imaginary  battles  and  marched 
very  real  miles,  for  the  battle  ground  was  always 
chosen  as  far  away  as  possible  from  our  billets, 
and  we  very  seldom  had  the  slightest  idea  of  what 
we  were  supposed  to  be  doing,  while  the  question 
of  who  won  was  regarded  as  a  strict  military  se- 
cret and  under  no  condition  was  it  allowed  to 
leak  out.  Still  I  suppose  it  was  all  good  train- 
ing, it  hardened  us  at  any  rate  and  that  was  very 
necessary. 

There  was  one  marvellous  institution  which  al- 
ways struck  us  as  difficult  of  explanation.  Dur- 
ing that  v/inter  of  '14-'15  a  severe  form  of  in- 
fluenza was  very  prevalent.  If  any  of  us  were 
not  feeling  well  and  had  bad  colds,  in  most  cases 
the  beginning  of  "flue,"  we  we-^e  given  L.  D. 


64i  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

(light  duty ) ,  and  this  consisted  of  sitting  in  a  bit- 
terlj^  cold  and  draughty  lumber  yard  (where  our 
mess  and  kitchen  were  situated)  on  the  edge  of  a 
canal,  while  we  fished  icy  cold  potatoes  ou^"  of  tubs 
of  icy  cold  water  and  peeled  them  with  blunt 
knives.  Now  this  did  not  in  any  instance  cure  the 
cold  or  intercept  the  "flue"  strange  though  it 
may  seem,  and  the  net  result  was  far  from  satis- 
factory. 

]My  stay  m  the  camp  ended  for  me  on  March 
15  when  I  received  the  glad  news  that  I  had  been 
given  a  commission  as  a  Lieutenant  in  the  nth 
battalion  of  the  King's  Own  Yorkshire  Light  In- 
fantry, having  jumped  a  grade  on  account  of  my 
age.  Packing  up  was  a  quick  job,  and  I  was 
homeward  bound  within  an  hour  after  receiving 
the  welcome  news,  feeling  tremendously  impor- 
tant, for  was  I  not  a  real  (though  temporary) 
officer  in  his  JMajesty's  Army?  I  was  granted  a 
few  days'  leave  in  order  to  get  my  uniform  and 
kit  (the  uniform  had  been  made  for  over  a  month 
and  only  needed  the  necessary  regimental  but- 
tons and  badges)  and  was  as  proud  as  a  peacock 
of  my  new  feathers,  while  my  children  were  even 
more  proud  and  took  the  utmost  delight  and 
satisfaction  in  seeing  their  father  saluted.  It 
\vas  most  amusing. 


FROM  CIVILIAN  TO  SOLDIER  65 

Then  came  the  day  when  I  joined  my  bat- 
talion. That  was  one  of  the  greatest  days  of  my 
life,  one  that  will  never  be  forgotten  so  long  as  I 
live.  As  I  look  back  at  all  that  has  passed,  and 
think  of  the  delightful  lot  of  fellows  that  were  my 
companions  for  so  many  months,  and  now,  how 
few  of  them  remain!  The  years  of  war  have 
thinned  their  number  most  pitifully.  Every  one 
has  been  in  the  casualty  list,  and  some  have  been 
wounded  several  different  times.  No  better  lot 
of  feEows  had  any  battalion.  We  were  like  a 
huge  family,  working,  studying,  playing,  and 
living  together,  with  the  one  object  in  view,  and 
that  object  is  not  yet  attained. 

It  is  perhaps  unnecessary  to  go  into  any  de- 
tails of  my  life  in  England.  Of  how  I  first  tried 
to  move  a  company  the  day  after  I  joined,  as 
the  company  commander  was  otherwise  engaged. 
The  agonies  I  went  through.  The  dread  of  the 
first  General's  review,  in  fact  of  all  the  things 
which  every  new  and  imperfectly  trained  ofiicer 
must  go  through.  Yet  with  it  all  I  look  back  to 
the  months  of  training  as  some  of  the  happiest 
in  my  whole  life.  There  was  the  great  satisfac- 
tion of  seeing  the  men  develop ;  when  I  first  saw 
them  they  were  in  any  sort  of  clothes,  without 
rifles  or  equipment.     Then  came  the  great  day 


66  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

when  the  Idiaki  uniform  arrived,  followed  soon 
by  the  leather  equipment,  and  the  consequent 
difficulties  of  assembling  the  endless  parts,  and 
then  rifles  to  take  the  place  of  the  soulless  dum- 
mies, and  the  men  felt  that  they  were  really  sol- 
diers and  we  were,  oh,  so  proud  of  them!  Each 
march  through  the  town  in  which  we  were  billet- 
ed was  a  sort  of  triumphal  procession. 

Our  Colonel,  who  fortunately  was  a  regular, 
took  the  greatest  pride  in  the  battalion,  and  in- 
stilled in  every  one  the  keenest  sense  of  pride 
and  respect,  and  the  battalion  increased  in  smart- 
ness and  efficiency  in  a  most  gratifying  way.  Our 
life  was  a  thoroughly  happy  one,  for  with  scarcely 
an  exception  we  all  pulled  together.  My  own  po- 
sition was  in  a  way  rather  curious  as  the  Captain, 
who  was  second  in  command  of  our  company,  was 
a  f  ellov/  considerably  less  than  half  my  own  age. 
A  splendid  chap  in  every  way  under  whom  it 
was  a  pleasure  to  serve.  He  knew  more  than  I 
of  matters  military  and  so  it  was  but  right  that 
he  should  have  rank  senior  to  mine.  In  our  army 
we  do  not  feel  that  rank  must  be  according  to 
age,  we  have  many  second  lieutenants  who  are 
forty  or  even  forty-five  years  of  age  and  who  do 
not  feel  that  it  is  beneath  their  dignity  to  take  or- 
ders from  men  very  many  years  their  junior.  It  is 


FROM  CIVILIAN  TO  SOLDIER  67 

all  a  part  of  the  discipline  which  is  such  a  splendid 
thing  for  us  all,  both  young  and  old. 

Our  life  during  the  period  of  training  was  one 
of  constant  activity.  We  all  had  to  learn  from 
the  very  beginning  what  was  necessary  for  the 
making  of  soldiers.  In  less  than  a  year  we  must 
be  converted  from  peaceful  citizens,  enjoying  the 
privileges  and  luxury  of  civilian  life,  to  well-dis- 
ciplined fighting  machines,  and  modern  warfare 
calls  for  such  a  vast  amount  of  technical  knowl- 
edge that  every  minute  of  our  time  was  thorough- 
ly occupied.  Fortunately  the  enthusiasm  of  our 
men  was  wonderful.  Not  only  would  they  do 
what  work  was  demanded  of  them,  but  on  Sat- 
urday afternoons  and  Sundays,  when  they  could 
have  rested,  they  would  ask  us  to  give  them  spe- 
cial instructions.  It  was  indeed  a  pleasure  and 
a  privilege  to  help  to  the  utmost  of  our  power. 
The  days  seemed  only  too  short  for  us  to  do  what 
we  wanted  yet  we  worked  frequently  from  6  a. 
m.,  our  first  parade  for  physical  training,  till  mid- 
night or  later.  The  Huns  might  speak  of  us  as 
an  untrained  rabble,  but  we  were  determined  to 
show  them  that  when  we  took  to  the  field,  be  it 
in  France  or  elsewhere,  we  should  be  able  to  dem- 
onstrate that  even  the  untrained  British  rabble 
was  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  the  highly  trained 


68  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

German  troops,  born  and  educated  to  the  one  idea 
of  fighting.  Looking  back  at  events  after  these 
more  than  three  years  we  cannot  but  feel  a  thrill 
of  pride  at  the  way  our  men  have  behaved  in  the 
greatest  war  that  has  ever  been  fought  for  right 
against  wrong. 

In  June  of  1915,  owing  to  appendicitis  I  was 
forced  to  undergo  an  operation  and  had  the  bad 
luck  to  be  laid  up  for  over  two  months.  Hearing 
from  our  Colonel  that  the  battalion  would  soon 
be  leaving  for  abroad  I  rejoined  before  properly 
regaining  my  strength,  which  resulted  in  my  hav- 
ing a  breakdown,  and  I  was  not  allowed  to  accom- 
pany them  when  in  September  they  left  for 
France.  It  was  a  bitter  night  for  me  as  I  bid 
good-bye  to  the  fellows  and  saw  them  march  off 
in  a  dense  fog  shortly  after  midnight.  Not  to 
be  going  with  them  was  one  of  the  greatest  dis- 
appointments of  my  life  and  I  was  left  behind 
to  clear  up  camp  (I.  C.  details  w^as  the  name  of 
^y  jot)).  How  utterly  dreary  and  deserted  it 
was!  The  endless  empty  huts,  the  silent  mess, 
which  so  recently  had  been  ringing  with  song  and 
laughter  of  the  fellows  who  were  so  keen  to  get 
into  the  fight,  and  now  they  had  gone ! 

After  clearing  up  the  camp  I  was  laid  up  till 
December,  when  I  joined  the  reserve  battalion 


FROM  CIVILIAN  TO  SOLDIER  69 

stationed  in  the  Midlands  and  remained  with  it 
until  March  when  the  Medical  Board  (after 
strong  persuasive  arguments  and  appeals)  passed 
me  fit  for  G.  S.  (General  Service) .  Needless  to 
say  I  was  delighted  and  immediately  applied  for 
embarkation  leave  of  four  days,  and  within  a 
week  was  on  my  way  to  "Somewhere  in  France." 
We  were  a  jolly  crowd  of  some  hundreds  of 
officers,  all  bound  to  various  units,  and  all  in  the 
highest  spirits.  Nearly  all  had  friends  or  rela- 
tives to  see  them  off,  and  it  was  interesting  to 
watch  the  heroic  efforts  of  the  women,  v/ives, 
mothers,  children  and  sweethearts  to  keep  smil- 
ing when  one  Iviiew  how  very  near  the  tears  were. 
But  crying  in  public  is  not  considered  the  proper 
thing  for  our  women,  and  least  of  all  v/hen  seeing 
their  men  going  to  war.  Dry,  or  almost  dry  eyes 
and  smiling  faces  were  the  rule.  Yet  one  won- 
dered what  would  happen  when  the  excitement 
of  the  departure  had  passed,  when  that  crowd 
scattered  and  returned  to  their  homes.  They 
were  proud  to  have  their  men  go  to  fight  for  the 
country.  Not  for  worlds  would  they  have  had 
them  stay  behind  and  seek  soft  jobs  in  England. 
Yet  the  dread  of  the  future  must  have  been  hard 
to  face.  With  none  of  the  excitement  which  keeps 
the  men  at  the  front  busy  and  cheerful,  and  pre- 


70  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

vents  too  much  thinking,  the  woman  has  the 
harder  task,  the  terrible  task  of  waiting,  waiting 
and  always  dreading  the  arrival  of  the  fatal  tele- 
gram which  to  so  many  means  the  end  of  all  that 
they  have  held  most  dear. 

As  the  clock  struck  the  hour  the  long  crowded 
train  started.  Every  window  blocked  by  weather- 
browned  faces  anxious  for  the  very  last  glimpse 
of  the  waving  mass  on  the  platform,  and  soon 
London  was  a  thing  of  the  past,  a  grey  smoky 
blur.  We  settled  ourselves  down  for  the  jour- 
ney, and  for  a  time  a  strange  quiet  prevailed. 
Men  were  actually  thinking,  yet  no  one  would 
have  dared  discuss  his  thoughts.  Gradually  con- 
versation began,  began  as  usual  with  the  light- 
ing of  cigarettes.  What  a  strangely  sociable  lit- 
tle friend  is  the  cigarette.  It  breaks  the  ice  of 
reserve  among  men  as  nothing  else  does  and  leads 
to  the  forming  of  many  a  friendship. 


PART  II 

CHAPTEK  IV 

Rejoining  My  Battalion 

Our  trip  to  France  was  entirely  uneventful 
and  on  landing  at  B we  all  received  our  in- 
structions. With  several  others  of  my  regiment 
I  was  to  leave  that  evening  for  the  base,  Etapies, 
commonly  known  to  Tommy  Atkins  as  ''Eat  Ap- 
ples," and  we  arrived  in  due  course  in  the  midst 
of  a  howling  snowstorm.  Guides  met  us  and  took 
us  and  our  kits  to  our  respective  tents  in  which 
we  were  soon  packed  like  sardines.  Each  man 
had  his  ''flea  bag"  (sleeping  bag  of  blanket  with 
waterproof  canvas  cover  properly  known  as  a 
valise).  In  the  morning  after  overcoming  cer- 
tain diiiiculties  in  the  way  of  shaving,  etc.,  we 
reported  to  the  adjutant,  a  delightful  fellow  who 
gave  us  our  instructions.  We  were  to  draw  "iron 
rations"  (tinned  beef,  dry  biscuits,  marmalade, 
and  a  tin  containing  tea,  sugar,  and  a  cube  of 
beef  extract),  gas  helmets,  field-dressing  outfit, 

73 


74  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

and  sundry  other  articles  considered  necessary  for 
the  welfare  of  the  soldier,  and  the  following  day 
entrained  for  the  Front. 

To  my  great  delight  I  found  myself  bound  for 
my  old  battalion.  That  was  indeed  a  relief  and 
a  piece  of  extraordinary  good  luck.  To  have 
gone  among  a  lot  of  strangers  would  have  been 
hard  to  say  the  least  of  it. 

The  train  journey  was  slow  and  rather  unin- 
teresting. On  our  way  we  stopped  for  a  few 
hours  at  a  fair-sized  town  where,  after  some  dif- 
ficulty, we  managed  to  secure  a  bath,  of  sorts. 
The  French  people  have  discovered  that  we  are  a 
very  dirty  race,  and  therefore  need  a  great  deal 
of  washing,  so  a  few  wide-awake  ones  have  bought 
large  tubs,  or  even  baths,  and  arranged  for  a  lim- 
ited, strictly  limited  I  might  say,  supply  of  hot 
water,  and  for  the  sum  of  two  francs  or  so  we 
are  allowed  to  disport  ourselves  more  or  less 
according  to  our  national  custom.  Privacy  is 
not  included  in  the  agreement  and  while  we, 
perhaps  half  a  dozen  to  a  room,  remove  the 
dust  of  travel,  Madame  and  her  husband 
come  in  and  out  and  keep  us  supplied  with 
water  and  towels.  It  is  all  a  trifle  primitive,  but 
better  than  nothing.  Following  the  bath,  a  fair 
dinner,  with  abundance  of  vin  ordinaire  put  us 


REJOINING  MY  BATTALION  75 

all  in  good  humour  and  we  resumed  our  journey 
arriving  at  B 1  before  midniglit.  The  bat- 
talion was  in  "country"  billets  a  few  miles  away^ 
so  we  put  up  at  the  hotel  and  in  the  morning 
found  the  mess  cart  awaiting  us. 

It  was  delightful  getting  back  to  the  old  lot. 
Of  course  many  changes  had  taken  place.  They 
had  been  in  the  battle  of  Loos  which  had  taken 
its  toll,  and  the  long  winter  months  in  the 
trenches  had  also  taken  a  few.  Still  the  regiment 
had  been  lucky  and  most  of  the  old  lot  were  there. 
It  was  like  going  home  to  see  them  all  again. 
They  all  had  had  experience  of  war,  while  I  was 
green,  which  made  me  feel  very  inferior.  I  was 
fortunate  enough  to  be  given  a  company  imme- 
diately, and  consequently  was  much  pleased  with 
life.  Our  billets  were  in  farm  houses  of  very 
unprepossessing  appearance  and  most  unsavoury 
odours.  Does  not  Bairnsfather  describe  them  as 
buildings  surrounding  a  rectangular  smell  or 
words  to  that  effect?  Well,  that  just  about  fits 
it.  Cleanliness  was  not,  and  in  many  instances 
the  people  were  far  from  friendly.  Notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  they  received  good  pay  for 
all  the  VvTretched  accommodation,  they  did  noth- 
ing but  grumble.  The  Battalion  was  resting,  i.e., 
not  in  trenches,  but  busy  with  parades  and  exer- 


76  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

cises  necessary  for  smartening  up.  I  had  a 
splendid  lot  of  junior  officers  and  our  company 
mess  was  as  jolly  and  harmonious  as  possible. 

Within  a  few  days  we  received  orders  to  move, 
but  there  was  no  intimation  as  to  w^hat  our  des- 
tination would  be.  One  cold  morning  before 
daylight  we  started  on  a  march  of  about  eight 
miles  to  the  railroad.  On  arriving,  there  was  a 
short  delay  and  we  entrained  for  the  south,  the 
men  chiefly  in  freight  cars,  and  the  officers  in 
first-  and  second-class  carriages.  All  day  we 
moved  along  in  a  most  aggravatingly  slow  way, 
finally  detraining  shortly  before  dusk  not  far 
from  Ainiens.  We  were  all  tired  and  dirty,  and 
the  men  badly  in  need  of  tea,  so  as  soon  as  the 
camp  cookers  were  unloaded,  preparations  were 
made  for  a  hot  meal  before  proceeding  on  the 
next  stage  of  our  journey,  about  thirteen  miles  of 
marching. 

As  darkness  set  in,  the  sky  to  the  east  reflected 
the  warm  glow  of  the  guns  and  the  cold  silver 
colour  of  the  star  shells,  and  the  low  booming 
told  us  that  we  were  not  very  far  from  the  firing 
line.  Those  of  us  who  had  not  been  into  battle 
began  to  realise  what  lay  ahead  of  us,  and  we 
could  not  help  feeling  a  certain  queer  tingling 
sensation  at  each  burst  of  the  ominous  red  light. 


REJOINING  MY  BATTALION  7*7 

I 

My  own  thought  was  that  some  poor  fellows 
were  probably  being  killed  or  wounded,  and  when 
we  moved  along  to  the  cheery  singing  or  whistling 
of  the  men,  war  seemed  a  strange  thing,  a  thing 
of  infinitely  great  contrasts,  and  such  a  foolish 
and  inhuman  way  of  settling  the  affairs  of  na- 
tions. Here  we  were  a  body  of  men  all  brought 
up  to  peaceful  pursuits  to  whom  the  idea  of  kill- 
ing our  fellow  beings  or  of  allowing  ourself  to 
be  killed  had  not  come  into  our  heads  until  a  few 
months  ago,  and  yet  now  we  were  like  thousands 
of  others  marching  along  as  cheerful  as  boys  go- 
ing on  a  picnic,  when  if  v/e  would  but  give  thought 
we  must  know  that  this  march  was  taking  us  one 
step  nearer  to  that  wonderfully  terrible  thing,  the 
modern  shell  torn,  gas  swept,  barb-wired  battle- 
field. I  have  often  w^ondered  w^hether  the  aver- 
age soldier  does  much  thinking.  Does  he  look 
ahead  and  analyse  what  is  before  him?  I  do  not 
believe  he  does.  He  just  plods  along  patiently, 
doing  his  allotted  tasks,  quite  happy  if  his  imme- 
diate body  comforts  are  satisfied,  and  giving  little 
or  no  thought  to  what  fate  may  have  in  store. 
It  is  better  so. 

While  tea  was  being  served,  the  French  girls 
did  a  thriving  business  with  chocolate,  and  cakes 
of  low  quality  and  high  price.     Tommy  Atkins 


78  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

seldom  misses  an  opportunity  of  spending  his 
very  small  amount  of  money  and  can  never  refuse 
to  buy  from  the  girls,  no  matter  what  their  na- 
tionality. 

Darkness  set  in  before  we  were  ready  to  move, 
and  then  followed  a  very  dreary  march  to  the 

village  of  La  N ,  which  was  some  twelve 

miles  behind  the  front  line.  We  were  all  very 
tired  before  starting  and  it  took  a  great  deal 
of  work  to  keep  things  going,  and  in  spite  of  all 
we  could  do  the  singing  slowly  died  dov/n  as  mile 
after  mile  was  passed.  Toward  eleven  o'clock 
it  seemed  as  though  that  march  would  never  end ; 
the  men  smiled  sadly  and  unbelievingly  when  I 
told  them  v^e  had  only  a  mile  and  a  half  more  to 
go;  they  were  quite  surprised  to  find  half  an 
hour  later  that  I  had  really  told  them  the  truth. 
We  entered  the  straggling  village  and  were  met 
by  our  billeting  officer  and  the  battalion  inter- 
preter who  guided  us  to  our  various  quarters. 

After  seeing  that  my  company  was  properly 
housed  in  a  couple  of  very  airy  barns,  I  joined 
the  other  officers  and  we  went  to  our  billets  and 
met  a  delightful  welcome  from  a  couple  of  elderly 
French  women  who  insisted  on  giving  us  bowls 
of  black  coffee  with  rolls  and  eggs.  These  people 
were  quite  a  different  type  from  those  we  had 


REJOINING  MY  BATTALION  79 

been  staying  v/ith  near  the  Flanders  border,  and 
we  found  everything  as  clean  as  possible  and  to 
our  joy  each  of  us  officers  had  a  separate  bed  with 
nice  clean  sheets,  and  as  it  was  well  after  mid- 
night, and  we  had  been  up  since  three  o'clock,  no 
time  was  lost  in  seeking  the  sleep  we  so  greatly 
needed. 

The  following  week  we  spent  at  the  village  do- 
ing a  certain  amount  of  training  and  attending  to 
the  men's  equipment,  special  gas  helmet  instruc- 
tion being  given  on  account  of  the  Germans'  con- 
tinually increasing  use  of  this  vile  form  of  war- 

•/  c_> 

fare.  At  the  end  of  the  week  we  moved  forward 
to  the  village  of  B — — e,  which  was  only  about 
six  miles  from  the  front.  Owing  to  the  limited 
accommodations  we  were  closely  crowded  into 
our  billets  but  still,  as  usual,  managed  to  make 
the  best  of  things,  and  soon  settled  down  after 
the  ordinary  amount  of  grumbling.  We  were 
fortunate  in  having  secured  a  most  comfortable 
mess  for  the  company  officers,  but  it  was  too  good 
to  last.  Some  senior  officers  discovered  our  com- 
fort and  we  were  promptly  evicted  and  had  to 
put  up  with  very  inferior  quarters. 

It  might  perhaps  be  well  to  explain  to  the 
reader  how  we  arrange  things  when  we  are  sta- 
tioned "Somevv^here  in  France."     The  Brigade, 


80  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

consisting  of  four  Battalions,  usually  moves  from 
place  to  place  as  a  unit,  but  in  order  to  allow  for 
the  separate  disposition  of  the  component  parts, 
each  company  is  made  a  complete  unit  which  can 
be  sent  away  without  interfering  in  any  way  with 
other  arrangements.  This  means  that  the  of- 
ficers of  each  company  run  their  own  mess,  one 
of  their  numbers  (and  there  are  usually  five  and 
sometimes  six  officers )  acts  as  mess  president  and 
he  takes  charge  of  accounts  and  buys  all  the 
things  necessary,  pays  for  the  room,  and  every 
week  a  settlement  is  made,  the  total  expenditure 
being  divided  equally.  The  officers  receive  the 
same  rations  as  the  men  and  supplement  this 
good,  though  somewhat  unvaried,  diet  with  such 
luxuries  as  eggs,  fresh  butter,  fruit,  cofiee  and 
whatever  liquid  refreshment  is  procurable. 

Each  mess  has  its  inevitable  gramophone  and 
receives  its  newspapers  both  daily  and  weekly 
illustrated,  and  is  in  a  way  a  miniature  club.  As 
regards  the  men  the  organisation  is  not  very  dif- 
ferent from  what  it  is  at  home  except  that  the  ser- 
geants are  not  always  able  to  have  tlieir  own  mess, 
though  occasionally  they  manage  to  arrange  this 
Vvdth  more  or  less  satisfactory  results.  Each 
company  is  supposed  to  have  its  own  travelling 
cooker,  and  this  usually  stays  with  the  company. 


BILLETS 


Tommy,  always   cheerful,  manages  to  make  himself  comfortable, 
more  or  less,  even  in  the  most  dilapidated  of  buildings. 


REJOINING  MY  BATTALION  81 

except  of  course  during  the  time  we  are  in  the 
trenches,  when  it  stays  in  some  reasonably  safe 
place  as  close  to  the  line  as  possible,  and  the 
cooked  food  is  sent  up  to  the  men  by  specially 
detailed  ration  parties. 

At  each  village  where  any  number  of  troops 
are  quartered  there  is  usually  a  Y.  JM.  C.  A.  hut, 
or  a  converted  barn,  and  this  is  a  veritable  god- 
send to  the  men,  where  free  stationery  is  fur- 
nished so  that  letters  may  be  written  in  comfort. 
It  is  their  club.  Games  and  music  are  arranged 
for  whenever  possible  and  supplies  of  the  ordi- 
nary necessities  and  some  modified  luxuries  may 
be  bought  by  the  men  at  reasonable  prices.  In 
every  way  these  Y.  M.  C.  A.  places  are  of  the 
greatest  value  and  they  should  have  the  utmost 
support  of  all  who  have  at  heart  the  welfare  of 
the  men  who  are  giving  up  everything  in  the  way 
of  homie,  and  home  comforts,  in  order  to  do  their 
share  to  free  the  world  from  the  threatened 
tjTannj  of  German  domination.  The  only  other 
place  of  amusement  that  is  to  be  found  in  our 
billeting  areas  is  the  "theatre,"  usually  a  large 
barn  in  v/hich  a  rude  stage  is  erected  with  very 
much  home-made  scenery  and  settings.  In  these 
theatres  both  plays  and  motion  pictures  are 
shown,  and  the  diversion  is  most  excellent  as  it 


82  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

takes  the  men's  minds  away  from  the  everlasting 
military  work  and  thought.  The  plays  are  given 
by  amateurs  or  ex-professional  men  in  khaki,  and 
by  kind-hearted  theatrical  people,  men,  who  for 
some  reason  cannot  get  into  the  army,  and 
women,  who  volunteer  their  services  as  a  contri- 
bution toward  the  welfare  of  the  men  who  need 
healthy  amusement  just  as  they  need  food  and 
clothing.  The  theatres  are  to  be  found  well  with- 
in the  zone  of  fire  though  seldom  nearer  than 
three  or  four  miles  from  the  actual  front  line 
trenches  and  it  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  to  see 
a  shell  hole  decorating  the  building  in  which  the 
plays  are  given. 


CHAPTER  V 

First  View  of  the  Trenches 

While  at  B e  I  made  my  first  visit  to  the 

trenches  with  the  three  other  company  com- 
manders. They  had  all  seen  a  fair  share  of  trench 
life  and  there  was  no  novelty  to  them,  but  to  me 
everything  was  new  and  of  course  most  interest- 
ing.   As  the  distance  from  B e  to  where  we 

v/ere  likely  to  be  shelled  was  about  six  miles  we 
made  the  journey  on  horseback  in  order  to  save 
time.  Our  way  took  us  along  the  crowded  dusty 
roads  and  through  the  one  long  street  which  com- 
prised the  village  of  M e,  where  many  of  the 

houses  were  more  or  less  destroyed  by  shells,  and 
it  struck  me  as  strange  that  so  many  of  the  people 
continued  to  live  in  such  unsafe  quarters.  From 
this  village  our  way  took  us  along  a  shell-marked 
road  on  the  sides  of  which  screens  of  burlap  and 
brush  were  arranged  to  conceal  the  passing  traf- 
fic from  the  eyes  of  the  enemy. 

Beyond  the  village  everything  was  desolation, 
the  roadside  estaminets,  where  the  peasants  used 

83 


84  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

to  meet  and  take  the  mild  drinks  of  the  country, 
were  now  only  masses  of  ruin;  fields,  formerly  so 
well  cultivated,  were  now  barren  wastes  on  which 
even  weeds  could  scarcely  grow.  The  trenches  of 
the  opposing  sides  were  clearly  visible  as  we 
rode  forward,  strange  white  chalk-edged  lines  on 
either  side  of  No  Plan's  Land.  The  day  was 
unusually  quiet  and  only  an  occasional  burst  of 
shell  showed  that  the  war  was  still  on.  Now  and 
then  a  sniper's  rifle  would  destroy  the  quiet  with 
sui^i^rising  suddemiess.  But  the  singing  of  the 
larks  and  the  general  air  of  peace  and  quiet  were 
not  at  all  what  one  would  have  expected  to  find. 
Here  and  there  along  the  roadside  often  guarded 
by  shrines  and  crucifixes  from  which  gazed  the 
agonised  face  of  Christ  we  passed  the  graves  of 
French  soldiers  who  had  given  their  lives  for  their 
glorious  country,  and  on  these  mounds  of  earth 
lay  faded  flowers,  while  many  of  the  graves  were 
surmounted  by  a  simple  cross  on  which  instead 
of  the  image  of  the  crucified  Christ  hung  the 
weather-beaten  cap  of  the  fallen  man.  Occa- 
sionally a  khaki  cap  told  us  that  one  of  our  own 
men  had  been  buried  alongside  of  his  French 
brother  in  arms  and  on  the  cross  was  written  the 
simple  yet  eloquent  inscription:  "No.  COO  private 


FIRST  VIEW  OF  THE  TRENCHES         85 
—  regiment.     Killed  in  action,  February 5, 


19 ." 

On  reaching  the  ruined  village  of  Becordel  we 
dismounted  and  left  the  horses  in  charge  of  a 
gi'oom  while  we  proceeded  on  our  way  to  the 
front  line.  The  first  first  half-mile  was  through 
the  communication  trenches,  kregular,  narrow, 
zigzag  ways  which  led  us  to  the  main  system  of 
the  firing  line.  We  had  been  given  a  guide  at 
the  Battalion  headquarters  and  he  took  us  to  the 
various  company  dugouts  along  the  line.  These 
were  simple  affairs  lacking  in  most  of  the  ordi- 
nary requirements  considered  necessary  for  com- 
fort. A  rough  table  usually  occupied  the  greater 
part  of  the  excavation  in  addition  to  which  there 
was  something  in  the  way  of  a  seat  or  two.  On 
beds  composed  of  sandbags  or  ragged  v/ire  net- 
ting were  sleeping  officers  who  had  been  up  all 
night  and  were  now  trying  to  snatch  a  wink  of 
sleep.  A  guttering  candle  was  the  only  form 
of  illumination  and  it  barely  made  the  darkness 
visible.  There  were  brief  introductions  to  the 
sleepy  inmates  who  immediately  offered  the  in- 
evitable cigarette  without  which  in  our  life  at  the 
front  no  introduction  seems  quite  complete. 

The  rough  v/alls  of  the  dugout  were  adorned 
by  a  few  pictures  from  the  illustrated  papers. 


86  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

The  usual  selection  being,  one  or  two  of  the  in- 
imitable Bairnsfather  cartoons  and  by  way  of 
contrast  some  of  the  coloured  pictures  of  fair 
but  not  over-clothed  damsels  from  La  Vie  Paris- 
ienne. 

After  a  brief  talk  with  the  fellows  the  company 
commander,  who  was  a  second  Lieutenant,  of- 
fered to  take  us  out  and  show  the  line.  He  did  it 
most  cheerfully  for  our  coming  meant  that  he  was 
to  be  relieved  within  a  few  hours  and  that  is  an 
event  of  considerable  moment  to  those  who  oc- 
cupy the  first  line.  For  obvious  reasons  it  is 
not  advisable  to  have  detail  maps  of  the  trenches, 
as  there  is  always  the  possibility  of  the  Germans 
making  a  raid,  and  the  capturing  of  a  map  would 
be  most  undesirable.  The  trenches  being  some- 
what complicated  it  was  necessary  that  we  should 
take  very  careful,  mental  notes  of  everything, 
and  it  was  surprising  how  many  things  had  to  be 
noted.  To  me,  unaccustomed  to  trenches  as  I 
was,  it  seemed  a  most  difficult  task  to  obtain  and 
memorise  a  correct  and  adequate  picture  of  the 
whole  system.  Especially  as  few  of  the  trenches 
had  names  on  them.  The  lack  of  signs  seemed 
almost  inexcusable  and  I  determined  that  the 
first  thing  I  would  do  on  "taking  over"  would  be 


FIRST  VIEW  OF  THE  TRENCHES         87 

to  put  some  sort  of  sign-board  in  every  corner 
in  order  to  avoid  confusion. 

We  found  the  trenches  in  fair  condition  though 
in  places  there  v/ere  stretches  of  badly  demolished 
line,  certain  spots  were  shelled  regularly  our 
guide  told  us  and  they  had  given  up  in  despair 
all  attempts  at  repairs.  Each  time  they  had  tried 
to  rebuild  these  places  the  enemy  had  interrupted 
the  work  after  an  hour  or  so  by  vigorous  straf- 
ing j  which  resulted  in  many  casualties.  While 
crossing  these  danger  zones  we  had  to  crawl  to 
avoid  being  seen  by  the  ever  v/atchful  German 
sniper.  For  the  m.ost  part  the  trenches  were 
fairly  dry  and  the  bottoms  covered  with  "duck 
boards,"  i.e.,  wooden  grills,  much  like  the  wooden 
"sidewalks"  so  often  seen  in  some  parts  of  Amer- 
ica. These  prevent  the  bottom  of  the  trench 
from  being  worn  by  the  constant  traffic  and  en- 
able one  to  walk  dry  shod  during  moderately 
rainy  weather.  The  wet  chalk  or  clay  makes 
these  boards  very  slippery  so  that  walking  is  al- 
most impossible  without  hob-nailed  boots,  espe- 
cially for  men  carrying  heavy  loads. 

Needless  to  say  the  extraordinary  regularity 
which  characterises  the  practice  trenches  at  home 
was  entirely  lacking.  The  size  of  the  bays  and 
traverses  varied  according?  to  conditions.     The 


88  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

depth  alone  remaining  fairly  constant.  In  most 
parts  the  sides  were  sand-bagged  from  the  bot- 
tom up  to  the  parapet,  in  others  wire  netting, 
wooden  or  iron  stakes  or  corrugated  iron  sheath- 
ing were  used  to  support  the  sides.  Dugouts  of 
many  sizes  and  in  various  degrees  of  decrepitude 
were  located  at  more  or  less  convenient  places, 
but  there  had  been  no  effort  to  make  them  either 
comfortable  or  even  reasonably  safe.  How  dif- 
ferent they  were  from  those  built  by  the  Ger- 
mans, as  we  were  to  discover  before  many  months. 
The  contrast  between  the  two  was  a  proof  of  the 
difference  in  the  points  of  view.  Our  dugouts 
were  of  the  crudest  possible  type.  They  showed 
that  we  evidently  had  no  intention  of  staying  in 
the  neighbourhood,  while  the  wonderful!}^  elabo- 
rate ones  made  by  the  Germans  seemed  to  show 
that  they  expected  to  remain  indefinitely.  I 
might  even  say  for  the  rest  of  their  natural  lives, 
for  that  was  to  be  the  fate  of  so  many  of  them. 
One  was  struck  by  the  cleanliness  of  the 
trenches.  No  litter  or  refuse  of  any  kind  is  al- 
lowed, and  all  the  sanitary  arrangements  were 
thoroughly  satisfactory.  This  is  one  of  the  great 
secrets  of  the  remarkable  health  of  our  troops. 
The  trenches  being  actually  healthier  than  billets 
except    during    severe    strafing    and   very   wet 


FIRST  VIEW  OF  THE  TRENCHES        89 

weather.  The  things  that  made  perhaps  the 
greatest  impression  on  me  not  only  on  this  first 
visit  to  the  front  hne,  but  also  later  on,  was  the 
seeming  scarcity  of  men,  the  apathy  and  bore- 
dom, and  the  apparent  lack  of  appearance  of 
readiness.  Here  and  there  one  saw  a  khaki-clad 
figure  huddled  under  a  ground  cloth,  looking 
for  all  the  world  as  though  he  were  dead  as  he 
lay  on  the  fire-step  or  in  some  nook.  In  all  cases 
such  men  are  fully  equipped  and  are  never  al- 
lowed to  be  separated  from  their  rifle. 

Occasionally  one  came  upon  an  industrious 
fellow  polishing  his  rifle  or  even  shaving,  or  what 
was  still  more  frequent,  writing  letters  home,  for 
that  is  the  great  recreation  of  the  men.  Here  and 
there  a  sentry  would  be  found  peering  through 
a  peep-hole  or  gazing  into  a  home-made  peri- 
scope. Unfortunately  regular  periscopes  were 
only  too  rare  and  sticking  one's  head  over  the 
parapet  is  not  a  desirable  form  of  amusement 
unless  one  wants  to  stay  permanently  in  France. 
So  the  men  showed  a  considerable  degree  of  in- 
genuity in  converting  small  shaving  mirrors  into 
periscopes.  They  were  usually  attached  to  the 
bayonet,  the  edge  being  held  toward  the  enemy, 
so  that  it  was  scarcely  visible.  Any  object  that 
can  be  seen  is  immediately  and  very  persistently 


90  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

used  as  a  target  by  the  snipers.  This  leads  to  a 
highly  praiseworthy  effort  on  the  part  of  every 
one  to  be  as  inconspicuous  as  possible. 

I  was  very  much  interested  in  what  I  saw  of 
the  crudeness  of  our  methods  of  firing  rifle  gre- 
nades. At  this  time  we  did  not  take  these  weap- 
ons seriously,  notwithstanding  the  remarkable 
efficiency  shown  by  the  Huns  in  using  them.  Not 
alone  did  they  send  over  immense  numbers  of  the 
deadly  grenades,  but  they  fired  them  with  pain- 
ful accuracy.  I  noticed  a  couple  of  men  with 
rifles  that  were  clumsily  fastened  to  stakes,  to 
the  triggers  were  attached  pieces  of  string,  then 
the  grenades  were  put  into  the  rifle,  which  was 
loaded  with  a  blank  cartridge  and  the  men 
walked  behind  the  nearest  traverse  for  shelter 
in  case  the  rifles  exploded.  Just  as  the  two  men 
I  was  watching  were  about  to  fire,  one  remarked, 
"Wait  a  minute.  Bill,  you'll  hit  the  bloomin' 
parapet,"  so  Bill  returned  to  the  unprovised  rifle 
stand  and  gave  the  rifle  butts  a  shove  down  and 
then  looked  along  the  barrels  to  see  that  the  para- 
pet did  not  obstruct  the  free  flight  of  the  grenade. 
Having  satisfied  himself  on  this  point  he  again 
sought  the  protection  of  the  traverse  and  pulled 
the  strings.  After  allowing  a  reasonable  time 
for  the  grenades  to  reach  their  destination  both 


FIRST  VIEW  OF  THE  TRENCHES        91 

Bill  and  his  mate  looked  over  the  top  to  see  what 
they  had  hit.  One  grenade  dropped  fully  fifty 
yards  short  of  the  enemy  trenches  and  the  other 
a  little  nearer,  but  both  were  utterly  useless.  I 
did  not  wait  to  see  what  happened  next,  but  the 
whole  method  or  rather  lack  of  method  struck  me 
as  painfully  bad,  and  a  waste  of  grenades,  which 
at  that  time  were  very  scarce. 

In  front  of  our  trenches  there  was  a  very  ir- 
regular amount  of  barbed-wire,  scarcely  enough 
to  offer  any  effective  protection  against  an  at- 
tack. While  the  German  lines  were  most  elab- 
orately protected  by  great  quantities  of  very 
heavy  wire.  More  particularly  was  this  notice- 
able in  front  of  the  second  and  third  line  of 
trenches.  The  distance  between  our  line  and  the 
Germans  varied  from  about  fifty  to  two  hundred 
yards.  The  nearest  part  being  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  the  Tambour  where  a  great  amoimt  of 
mining  and  counter-mining  was  being  done.  The 
net  result  of  this  form  of  warfare  seemed  nega- 
tive. Neither  side  gained  appreciable  advantage, 
but  so  long  as  one  side  indulged  in  the  pleasant 
pastime  of  trying  to  blow  up  the  other  side,  it  is 
obvious  that  both  had  to  play  the  same  game, 
only  we  tried  to  do  our  work  a  little  better  than 
the  Germans  and,  be  it  said  to  our  credit,  our 


92  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

mines  in  nearly  every  instance  were  fired  first, 
and  that  is  a  great  and  very  important  detail. 

The  entire  ground  between  the  lines  at  this 
point  was  a  mass  of  torn  chalky  earth  and  deep 
irregular  craters — a  truly  ghastly  confusion. 
Winding  its  erratic  way  among  the  craters  hastily 
constructed  barbed-wire  entanglements  were  vis- 
ible, and  on  these  hung  several  human  bodies. 
Their  tattered  clothing  blowing  in  the  breeze 
gave  the  effect  of  scarecrows,  the  gruesome  scare- 
crows of  war. 

For  the  greater  part  No  Man's  Land  was 
a  desolate  waste,  pock-marked  here  and  there 
with  shell  holes,  a  dreary  uninviting  tract  over 
which  the  bullets  of  rifle  and  machine  guns 
screamed  all  night  and  the  sky  larks  sang  during 
the  comparative  quiet  of  the  day. 

To  the  East  beyond  the  many  lines  of  chalk- 
rimmed  trenches  lay  Fricourt  nestling  against 
the  small  woods,  which  were  beginning  to  show 
the  faint  delicate  gi'een  of  early  spring.  The  vil- 
lage v/as  fairly  intact  and  seemed  strangely 
peaceful,  yet  in  reality  it  was  neither  more  nor 
less  than  a  fort.  Everything  that  modern  mili- 
tary science  could  accomplish  had  been  done  to 
render  the  place  impregnable.  Its  snug  home- 
like red  brick  cottages  w^ere  bristling  with  ma- 


PIRST  VIEW  OF  THE  TRENCHES        93 

chine  guns  and  its  streets  covered  a  veritable 
labyrinth  of  underground  passages  and  immense 
dugouts  in  which  thousands  of  troops  could  be 
assembled  in  comparative  safety  from  our  guns. 
Our  guide  took  us  through  his  entire  lines  and 
then  handed  us  over  to  the  officers  of  the  adjoin- 
ing Battalion.  They  in  turn  showed  us  their 
trenches,  and  after  an  hour  or  two  vv^e  returned 
to  where  our  horses  had  been  left,  and  made  our 
way  back  to  billets. 


CHAPTER  VI 

At  Becordel — Strafed 

Two  days  later  we  received  orders  to  move 
forward.  The  Brigade  was  divided  so  as  to  hold 
the  various  integral  parts  of  our  front,  and  it 
fell  to  my  lot  in  con j  miction  with  another  com- 
pany to  take  up  our  position  at  the  little  village 
of  Becordel,  which  was  about  fifteen  hundred 
yards  from  the  front  line,  and  from  which  we 
could  see  our  own  and  the  German  trenches  quite 
clearly.  The  village  was  badly  dilapidated.  The 
church  and  many  of  the  houses  were  completely 
wrecked,  but  here  and  there  a  building:  remained 
in  fair  condition  except  for  occasional  holes  in 
the  walls  or  roof.  The  Germans  seem  to  think 
that  we  Britishers  need  a  lot  of  fresh  air,  and  as 
soon  as  they  know  we  are  occupying  any  particu- 
lar billet,  they  promptly  proceed  to  ventilate  the 
rooms  by  means  of  shell  holes. 

We  found  the  fellows  v/ho  were  holding  the 
village  exceedingly  pleased  at  the  immediate 
prospect  of  being  relieved.     It  appeared  that 

94 


AT  BECORDEL— *Sri2^F£Z)  95 

every  day  the  Huns  had  indulged  in  a  "hate 
hour"  and  the  shells  dropped  into  the  place  in  a 
most  promiscuous  and  highly  unpleasant  fashion. 
The  result  was  that  there  had  been  many  casu- 
alties. This  of  course  was  most  reassuring  and 
comforting,  for  we  had  a  spell  of  ten  days  still 
before  us.  However,  there  was  no  use  in  worry- 
ing and  after  we  had  bid  good-bye  to  the  relieved 
companies  {relieved  is  a  word  full  of  meaning  in 
such  cases)  we  began  to  make  ourselves  at  home, 
picked  out  more  or  less  suitable  places  for  sleep- 
ing and  messing  and  saw  that  the  men  were  prop- 
erly housed.  Then  instructions  were  issued  for 
protection  in  case  of  shelling,  dugouts  and  cel- 
lars allotted  to  each  platoon,  and  rough  plans 
made  in  case  of  attack.  The  village  v/as  a  very 
small  one  built  roughly  in  the  form  of  a  T  with 
an  open  square  at  the  junction  of  the  lines;  at 
the  side  furthest  from  the  front  line  trenches 
there  was  a  small  field  more  or  less  protected  from 
the  Germans'  view  by  two  large  barns  whose 
roofs  had  been  riddled  by  shell  and  shot. 

I     As  soon  as  the  men  had  been  dismissed  they 

I 

started  the  inevitable  gam.e  of  football  in  the 
small  field.  Everything  was  going  smoothly 
when  one  foolish  chap  kicked  the  ball  high.    Ap- 


96  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

parently  the  Huns  saw  it.  Now  if  there  is  one 
thing  they  hate  besides  a  Britisher  and  an  Ameri- 
can it  is  football.  This  hatred  dates  from  the  time 
at  Loos  when  the  Irish  regiment  dribbled  a  ball 
across  the  line  toward  their  trenches,  as  one  fel- 
low would  fall  another  put  the  ball  forward  and 
this  showed  a  lack  of  respect  for  the  Hun.  Such 
an  attitude  is  disliked  b3/  the  noble  creature  and 
to  know  that  we  contemptible  Britishers  were 
daring  to  play  the  game  within  sight  of  his 
trenches  was  insulting  and  he  forthwith  proceed- 
ed to  stop  it  by  firing  a  few  shells.  The  men  were 
promply  ordered  into  shelter  and  I  then  started 
across  the  square  to  see  to  the  safety  of  the  rest 
of  my  men  who  were  on  the  further  side  of  the 
village;  fortunately  for  me  I  am  a  slow  runner, 
for  I  had  only  taken  a  few  steps  when  I  heard 
the  whistling  of  a  shell.  Needless  to  say,  I 
stopped,  stopped  very  suddenly  as  the  shell 
struck  just  v^'here  I  would  have  been  had  I  been 
a  fast  runner.  Had  we  coincided  I  feel  convinced 
that  the  shell  would  have  had  the  best  of  it,  as 
it  was  I  turned  and  made  what  I  am  sure  was  a 
speed  record  in  my  endeavour  to  reach  a  place  of 
safety  in  a  nearby  cellar. 

The  following  day  passed  without  incident  or 


AT  B^CORBEl^—STRAFED  97 

shells,  and  we  began  to  feel  that  the  Hun  fright- 
fulness  had  been  much  exaggerated,  so  we  settled 
down  to  enjoy  a  peaceful  ten  days  in  our  little 
ruined  village.  It  was  not  long,  however,  before 
our  tranquillity  was  rudely  disturbed.  We  were 
about  to  have  our  five  o'clock  tea  in  the  open, 
outside  of  our  improvised  mess,  when  just  as 
the  tea  was  being  poured  a  shell  came  screaming 
into  the  village  followed  quickly  by  another. 
This  was  most  annoying  as  we  had  to  retreat  to 
the  safety  of  the  cellars  and  when  the  strafing  had 
ceased  our  tea  was  quite  cold.  Fortunately  no 
other  damage  had  been  done,  except  that  a  corner 
of  our  building  had  been  shot  away.  That  day 
our  C.  O.  (commanding  officer)  paid  us  a  visit 
and  gave  the  order  that  the  officers  of  our  two 
companies  must  separate  so  as  to  avoid  the  risk  of 
all  of  us  being  knocked  out  at  one  time.  Under 
no  condition  v/ere  we  all  to  congregate  in  one 
place  even  for  meals.  This  meant  that  we  must 
have  our  meals  in  relays  as  there  v\^as  only  one 
room  fit  for  a  mess.  A  day  or  so  later  while  the 
other  company  v/ere  having  their  meal  I  missed 
one  of  my  junior  officers.  On  investigation  he 
was  discovered  sitting  in  the  mess.  I  was  in 
the  act  of  telling  him  that  this  was  contrary 
to  orders  when  my  remarks  were  em.phasised  by  a 


98  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

shell  tearing  through  our  verandah,  a  curious  co- 
incidence which  resulted  in  a  race  for  the  cellar; 
the  speed  with  which  we  accomplished  this  act 
would  have  reflected  great  credit  on  a  lot  of  agile 
rahhits  getting  into  their  burrows. 

One  of  our  tasks  while  in  Becordel  v/as  to  fur- 
nish work  parties  to  assist  the  tunnelling  com- 
panies who  were  engaged  in  mining  under  the 
German  lines.  About  half  of  our  men  had  to  go 
each  night  for  this  work,  and  most  unpopular 
work  it  was,  both  for  officers  and  men,  especially 
during  wet  weather.  The  enemy  knew  exactly 
where  our  mine  heads  were  situated  and  amused 
himself  regularly  each  night  by  dropping  shells 
and  rifle  grenades  among  the  work  parties.  The 
previous  occupants  of  our  village  had  suffered 
heavy  casualties  in  this  way,  so  we  were  not  sur- 
prised v/lien  during  the  following  night  work  the 
officers  reported  several  wounded  and  one  killed. 
Later  on  v/hen  the  men  had  finished  their  allotted 
task  earlier  than  usual  some  of  them  were  seized 
with  the  souvenir-hunting  craze  and  crawled  out 
in  No  J^Ian's  Land  to  look  for  unexploded  gren- 
ades. Unfortunately  they  discovered  a  few  and 
in  coming  through  the  narrow  trench  on  their  way 
back  to  the  village  one  let  his  fall ;  it  exploded  and 
caused  no  less  than  ten  casualties.    This  resulted 


AT  BECOR'DF.I.—STRAFED  99 

in  an  order  that  under  no  condition  was  any  man 
allowed  to  touch  unexploded  shells  or  grenades. 

The  following  day  two  of  the  victims  of  this 
unfortunate  tragedy  were  brought  through  the 
village  for  burial  in  the  little  cemetery  nearby. 
It  was  the  first  time  I  had  seen  one  of  those  pa- 
thetically simple  funerals.  The  bodies  were  sewn 
up  in  Army  blankets  (which  the  Germans  with 
their  high  degree  of  efficiency  would  have  consid- 
ered criminal  waste)  and  borne  on  light  two- 
wheeled  stretcher  carriers ;  there  was  no  guard  or 
firing  party,  no  one  but  the  Padre  and  the  men 
who  pushed  the  stretchers,  and  so  they  were  taken 
to  their  last  resting  place  over  v/hich  two  more 
small  crosses  would  be  added  to  the  thousands, 
yes  hundreds  of  thousands  that  will  remain  in 
France  to  mark  England's  dead,  her  part  in 
the  great  sacrifice  for  the  rights  of  humanity. 

Many  strange  things  happened  during  the 
night  operations.  I  was  told  that  on  several  oc- 
casions the  Germans  had  sent  a  man  over  dressed 
in  our  uniform.  The  fellow  would  crawl  along 
and  watch  his  chance  to  join  our  work  party, 
with  them  he  would  work  until  an  hour  or  so  be- 
fore daylight  and  then  vanish  with  complete  lack 
of  ostentation,  probably  carrying  valuable  in- 
formation regarding  our  mining  operation.  Such 


100  WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

a  task  certainly  requires  courage  and  no  one 
could  help  admiring  a  man  who  would  take  the 
risks. 

Each  of  our  officers  took  turns  in  conducting 
the  work  parties,  and  my  turn  happened  on  a 
fine  and  fairly  quiet  night.  After  handing  over 
my  men  to  the  various  tasks  allotted  to  them 
by  the  mining  officer,  I  visited  their  dugout,  had 
a  bite  of  supper  and  then  accepted  the  invitation 
to  go  down  the  shafts.  These  were  about  one 
hundred  feet  deep  and  we  went  down  on  rope 
ladders.  I  was  glad  that  many  years  of  my  early 
life  had  been  spent  at  sea  as  it  made  the  ladder 
descent  a  little  less  unpleasant. 

On  arriving  at  the  bottom,  I  was  allowed  to 
take  one  of  the  listening  devices,  a  sort  of  micro- 
phone w^hich  was  fastened  in  the  ground.  By 
listening  carefully  I  could  hear  the  Germans 
w^orking  at  their  mines,  apparently  very  near.  It 
was  an  uncanny,  queer,  and  not  at  all  pleasing 
sensation  being  down  there  in  the  dark  damp  hole 
listening  to  men  working  with  the  sole  object  of 
blowing  you  to  pieces,  and  I  could  not  help  think- 
ing of  what  would  happen  should  they  decide  to 
set  off  their  mines  while  I  was  down  in  the  stuffy, 
heated  and  very  cramped  place. 
To  tell  the  truth  I  did  not  enjoy  the  experience 


AT  Bi:COnBEI.—S,T,AAFkp  101 

and  was  only  too  glad  when  my  guide  had  finished 
his  inspection  and  suggested  returning  to  the  sur- 
face again,  but  my  joy  was  short  lived  for  on  ar- 
riving at  the  top  I  found  that  I  was  expected  to 
go  down  two  more  of  the  shafts.  Pride  alone  pre- 
vented my  saying  that  I  had  had  quite  enough  to 
satisfy  my  curiosity,  especially  as  I  was  being 
entertained  by  blood-curdling  stories  of  how 
mines  had  been  fired  by  the  Huns  at  unexpected 
moments  with  horrible  results  to  the  wretched 
men  who  were  working  below. 

In  going  along  the  trenches  I  noticed  cages  of 
canaries  and  thought  how  nice  it  was  for  the  men 
to  have  their  pets  with  them,  they  gave  a  sort 
of  touch  of  home.  I  was  however,  surprised  to 
learn  that  these  birds  are  taken  down  the  saps 
as  a  test  of  the  purity  of  the  air.  If  they  die  the 
men  know  that  the  air  is  foul  and  unfit  for  human 
beings  to  breath  so  the  supply  of  fresh  air  sent 
down  by  the  pumps  must  be  increased  immedi- 
ately.   'Not  so  very  home-like  after  all! 

It  appeared  that  when  we  first  took  over  this 
part  of  the  line,  the  Germans  had  the  advantage 
in  the  minin^",  but  that  for  some  time  nast  our  fel- 
lows  had  gained  in  every  point.  We  had  found 
a  way  of  ascertaining  when  the  enemy  intended 
to  fire  his  charge  and  thereafter  we  invariably 


103         WKEI^;  1'HE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

fifed  ours  first,  with  results  entirely  satisfactory 
from  our  point  of  view.  This  underground  form 
of  fighting  is  one  of  the  many  strange  and  ghastly 
developments  of  modern  w^arfare  and  perhaps 
none  calls  for  a  greater  degree  of  nerve  control. 
It  is  no  wonder  indeed  that  the  men  frequently 
break  down  under  the  long-continued  strain  of 
working  in  awkward,  cramped  positions,  the  ter- 
rible suspense,  and  the  long  hours  spent  in  the 
foul  air,  and  it  is  astonishing  that  human  beings 
can  be  found  who  will  volunteer  for  it,  knowing 
w^ell  what  hardships  it  entails. 

Shortly  before  daylight  appeared,  I  w^as  told 
that  the  men  had  completed  their  tasks  and  that 
they  had  given  entire  satisfaction  and  only  one 
had  been  wounded  (they  were  nearly  all  miners 
and  thoroughly  understood  everything  connect- 
ed wdth  the  work  they  had  been  doing),  so  we 
made  our  way  out  along  the  narrow  crooked 
trenches  and  arrived  at  our  village  in  good  time 
for  breakfast. 

During  the  rest  of  our  stay  at  Becordel  noth- 
ing of  great  importance  occurred;  as  a  rule  we 
received  about  ^ve  shells  each  day  just  to  relieve 
the  monotony;  strange  to  say  we  did  not  suffer 
a  single  casualty  from  these  shells,  and  lost  very 
few  men  among  the  nightly  work  parties.     The 


AT  BF.CORB'EI.— STRAFED  lOS 

only  work  of  importance  we  had  to  do  was  the 
planning  of  an  effective  scheme  of  defence  and 
construction  of  dugouts.  How  it  was  the  Iluns 
did  not  give  us  a  thorough  and  effective  bom- 
bardment I  could  not  understand  as  they  could 
very  easily  have  wiped  us  out  with  a  few  large 
shells. 

On  the  ninth  day  of  our  stay,  officers  from  the 
relieving  companies  came  to  inspect  the  place. 
They  had  heard  terrible  stories  of  the  village 
and  were  greatly  relieved  when  told  how  we 
had  fared,  and  returned  to  their  billets  very  much 
pleased  with  the  prospect  of  a  pleasant  stay  in 
our  mass  of  ruins.  That  night,  shortly  before 
the  ration  party  arrived,  as  it  always  did  about 
nine  o'clock,  the  Huns  sent  an  extra  allowance 
of  shells  and  two  whiz-bangs  (field  artillery 
shells,  so  called  because  the  whiz  and  the  bang, 
that  is  to  say  the  noise  of  the  shell  coming  through 
the  air,  and  the  explosion  are  almost  simulta- 
neous: if  you  hear  the  "whiz"  you  are  alive,  if 
you  do  not  you  are  likely  to  be  dead)  landed 
in  the  street  exactly  where  the  ration  party  usu- 
ally stopped.  When  the  party  arrived  we  showed 
them  the  holes  and  it  was  surprising  how  quickly 
the  rations  were  unloaded  and  the  horses  driven 
off  at  their  utmost  speed.     They  had  not  gone 


104«         WPIEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

more  than  a  few  hundred  yards  when  several 
shells  dropped  in  their  immediate  vicinity,  but 
fortunately  caused  no  damage,  and  the  sound  of 
galloping  horses  caused  a  considerable  amount  of 
amusement  among  our  fellows,  who  imagine  that 
the  transport  men  have  far  too  easy  a  time  and 
run  little  or  no  risk. 

The  next  day  we  packed  up  our  belongings 
and  eagerly  awaiting  the  arrival  of  the  relief. 
They  were  not  very  punctual  and  it  was  late  in 
the  afternoon  before  they  finally  arrived  so  we 
lost  no  time  in  turning  over  the  place  to  them, 
I  regret  to  say  they  had  very  bad  luck;  within 
an  hour  after  their  arrival  they  v/ere  caught  by 
some  shells  and  lost  several  officers  and  a  number 
of  men.  Their  ill-fortune  continued  throughout 
their  stay  and  they  suffered  unusually  heavy 
losses  both  while  v/orking  at  night  in  the  trenches 
and  in  the  village  itself.  It  is  curious  how  luck, 
good  or  bad,  seems  to  go  with  certain  Battalions. 
For  a  long  time  past  this  lot  had  experienced 
nothing  but  ill  fortune  while  we  had  earned  the 
name  of  "God's  own"  for  our  exceptionally  light 
casualties  and  general  good  luck.  Later  the  tide 
turned  against  us  and  we  suffered  terrible  losses. 

The  march  back  from  Becordel  to  our  rest  bil- 
lets was  made  on  one  of  the  finest  nights  I  can 


AT  BBCORBBJ^—STRAFED  105 

remember,  a  clear  full  moon  lighted  our  road  and 
every  one  was  in  the  best  of  spirits;  on  the  way 
,we  stopped  at  a  place  where  the  camp  cookers 
awaited  us,  and  had  tea ;  it  was  like  a  regular  pic- 
nic and  then  in  the  cool  of  the  night  we  continued 

our  way  reaching  our  former  billets  at  La  N e 

about  midnight,  all  wholesomely  tired  and  quite 
ready  for  a  well-earned  sleep. 
[  The  day  following  a  spell  in  the  front  line  is 
always  more  or  less  slack,  a  general  cleaning  up 
is  necessary  and  there  are  no  parades.  As  the 
baths  would  not  be  available  for  my  company  un- 
til the  following  day,  I  took  the  men  to  a  little 
river  not  far  from  the  village  and  allowed  them  to 
indulge  in  a  swim.  The  British  Tommy  has  a 
mania  for  w^ashing,  and  one  of  our  greatest  trou- 
bles is  to  keep  him  from  bathing  in  all  sorts  of 
places  whether  they  are  suitable  or  not.  It  is  a 
good  fault  but  causes  a  certain  amount  of  worry 
and  anxiety.  I  once  found  some  of  my  men  bath- 
ing in  a  large  pool  in  which  were  numerous  dead 
rats,  and  these  rats  were  by  no  means  recent.  The 
excuse  was  that  there  was  no  other  water  avail- 
able. The  whole  question  of  w^ater  supply  is  a 
very  serious  one  and  of  course  the  drinking  of  any 
that  has  not  been  tested  is  absolutely  prohibited 
and  men  are  severely  punished  for  violation  of 


106         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

the  order.  Practically  all  the  water  issued  to  us 
is  chlorinated  which  makes  it  safe  but  very  nasty. 
However  one  gets  used  to  anything,  even  the 
flavour  of  chloride  of  lime  in  tea,  and  this  is  a 
severe  test  of  one's  adaptability. 

During  our  stay  in  La  N e  we  had  to  do  a 

great  deal  of  trench  digging.  Rest  billets  are  so 
named  because  one  gets  everything  ecvcept  rest. 
It  is  always  work  and  more  work  and  the  great- 
est ingenuity  is  displayed  by  those  who  arrange 
our  itinerary  in  avoiding  any  blank  periods ;  each 
hour  is  filled  to  its  limit  of  sixty  minutes,  though 
we  are  never  expected  to  work  more  than  24 
hours  per  day.  Of  course  it  keeps  us  out  of  mis- 
chief and  certainly  does  not  hurt  our  health  and 
there  is  not  the  least  opportunity  for  getting  soft. 

The  trench  digging  that  we  were  ordered  to  do 
had  a  definite  object,  we  had  to  reproduce  the 
German  trench  system  which  lay  in  front  of  our 
line.  Rumour  had  it  that  we  were  planning  a 
great  offensive  along  an  extended  front  and  that 
our  division  was  to  have  the  line  opposite  Fri- 
court,  a  charming  spot  which  promised  well  in  the 
way  of  excitement.  No  one  knew  when  the  of- 
fensive w^as  to  be  undertaken  but  there  was  a  great 
amount  of  suppressed  excitement  at  the  prospect 
of  actually  attacldng  the  Hun  seriously  and  on  a 


AT  BBCORB^l.— STRAFED  107 

long  front,  and  the  men  worked  with  a  consider- 
able degree  of  enthusiasm.  Of  course  we  were  not 
allowed  to  discuss  the  scheme,  but  naturally  every 
one  of  us  recognised  the  arrangement  of  the 
staked-out  lines  that  we  were  digging.  The  plan 
was  made  from  a  large  series  of  aeroplane  photo- 
graphs and  was  therefore  fairly  accurate,  quite 
sufficiently  so  for  our  purpose. 

Few  people  realise  the  amount  of  preparation 
that  is  necessary  for  a  big  offensive,  the  intricate 
detail  is  bewildering,  nothing  can  be  left  to 
chance,  from  the  important  question  of  water 
supply  at  each  stage  of  the  advance,  to  the  posi- 
tion of  the  ammunition  reserves,  the  food,  the 
surgical  requirements,  the  number  of  men  needed, 
and  the  placing  of  them,  it  is  an  endless  chain 
of  detail.  There  must  be  complete  co-ordination 
of  the  various  branches  of  the  army,  so  that  no 
unit  shall  fail.  Not  only  is  there  the  main  plan 
for  the  attack  which  presumes  more  or  less  com- 
plete success,  but  alternative  plans  must  be 
worked  out  with  equal  elaboration.  Even  the 
chance  of  failure  must  be  most  carefully  consid- 
ered and  provided  for.  All  of  this  is  done  by  the 
Staff  at  G.  H.  Q.,  then  each  Division  works  out 
its  own  plans,  each  Brigade  of  each  Division  does 
the  same,  and  again  each  Battalion  and  each  com- 


108         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

pany  until  finally  minute  orders  are  issued  to  each 
platoon,  so  that  every  man  knows  exactly  what  is 
expected  of  him.  The  trenches  we  had  to  dig 
wxre  a  small  part  of  the  preparations  and  were 
intended  for  use  in  instructing  the  Brigade.  Over 
these  trenches  different  schemes  and  formations 
for  the  attack  were  tried,  until  by  repeated  prac- 
tice every  one  knev/  what  he  must  do  when  the 
great  attack  was  launched.  The  whole  thing  was 
extremely  elaborate  and  very  satisfactory. 

The  work,  together  with  certain  parades,  oc- 
cupied practically  all  our  time  and  energy,  and 
our  ten  days  passed  only  too  rapidly.  At  the 
end  of  the  period  we  moved  forward  a  few  miles 

to  the  village  of  V e,  when  for  another  ten 

days  we  were  kept  busy  with  various  branches  of 
training.  These  included  demonstrations  of  li- 
quid fire  and  gas,  and  I  can  safely  say  that  no 
part  of  the  training  is  so  thoroughly  disliked. 
It  is  bad  enough  to  be  forced  to  face  these  bar- 
barous forms  of  warfare  when  actually  fighting, 
but  to  enter  a  trench  in  cold  blood  and  have  liquid 
fire  launched  at  the  trench  is,  to  put  it  mildly, 
very  terrifying.  We  were  using  instruments 
which  had  been  captured  from  the  Germans ;  they 
consisted  of  reservoirs  containing  oil  under  high 
pressure;  the  man  who  carries  the  infernal  ma- 


AT  Bl^CORBJLlu— STRAFED  109 

chine  directs  the  fire  by  means  of  a  long  nozzle 
which  is  pointed  toward  the  enemy;  as  the  oil  is 
released  by  pressing  a  valve  to  which  is  arranged 
a  fire  jet  it  is  ignited,  and  belches  forth  a  verita- 
ble breath  of  hell  with  a  deafening  roar  like  Niag- 
ara Falls.  Anything  better  calculated  to  strike 
terror  into  the  heart  of  man  would  be  dimcult  to 
imagine.  Yet  our  men  had  to  submit  to  this  at- 
tack in  order  that  they  might  realise  how  little 
danger  there  v/as  if  they  knew  hov/  to  act,  the 
great  precaution  being  the  necessity  of  keeping  as 
flat  as  possible  in  the  bottom  of  the  trench,  as  the 
fire  does  not  fall. 

On  April  SO,  I  received  instructions  to  ride 
forward  the  following  day  with  another  of  the 
company  commanders  to  inspect  the  line  of 
trenches  that  we  were  shortly  to  occupy ;  my  line 
was  to  be  the  part  adjoining  the  much  dreaded 
Tambour  so  I  looked  forward  to  a  very  lively  ten 
days  as  the  Germans  were  particularly  active  on 
this  section.  Early  in  the  morning  we  started 
and  rode  to  within  about  three  miles  of  the  line 
and  from  there  proceeded  along  the  road  on  foot. 
We  found  that  this  road  was  subject  to  a  cer- 
tain amount  of  shelling  and  in  several  places, 
there  were  large  holes,  which  testified  to  the  ac- 
curacy of  the  enemy's  shooting.    On  nearing  the 


AT  Bi:COKDBl^— STRAFED  111 

visit  the  enemy  had  been  behaving  badly  and  we 
were  shown  whole  sections  of  trench  that  had  been 
destroyed  by  shells.  The  occupying  company  had 
suffered  a  large  number  of  casualties  and  had 
been  unable  to  do  much  in  the  way  of  reconstruc- 
tion. The  company  officer  said  that  every  time 
he  had  attempted  repairs  the  work  party  had 
been  shelled  and  that  finally  he  had  given  it  up 
in  despair.  I  was  naturally  interested  in  his  re- 
port and  inquired  as  to  his  methods.  He  said 
they  found  that  in  every  case  the  shelling  would 
begin  after  the  men  had  been  working  in  one 
part  for  half  an  hour  or  more,  so  I  determined 
to  try  very  short  shifts.  That  the  trenches  must 
be  repaired  was  imperative,  if  we  wished  to  live 
in  any  sort  of  comfort  and  safety.  For  in  their 
present  condition  they  were  scarcely  fit  to  be  oc- 
cupied. 

It  was  late  in  the  afternoon  v/hen  we  bid  our 
hosts  good-bj^e  with  the  promise  that  we  should 
arrive  promptly  at  the  appointed  hour  two  days 
later,  and  arrangements  were  made  for  meet- 
ing the  platoon  guides  at  a  suitable  place.  In 
this  part  of  the  line  the  reliefs  were  carried  out 
in  daylight;  this  is  far  more  comfortable  than 
when  done  at  night,  which  is  necessary  in  some 
sections.     So  far  as  comfort  goes  the  night  re- 


11^         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

lieving  has  absolutely  nothing  to  recommend  it, 
but  it  has  to  be  done  when  the  opposing  lines  are 
divided  by  perhaps  less  than  fifty  yards. 

In  returning  to  JM e,  where  our  horses  had 

been  left,  we  were  told  to  avoid  the  road  and  fol- 
low a  little  guliy  near  v/hich  a  new  communica- 
tion trench  was  being  dug  in  order  that  men  could 
be  moved  forward  with  less  risk.  On  either  side 
of  the  gully  we  had  a  number  of  heavy  batteries 
which  the  Germans  were  always  trying  to  "find," 
i.e.,  hit. 

As  we  made  our  way  along  several  shells 
passed  overhead  singing  their  drooning  song  of 
death.  Now  and  then  they  would  fall  in  the 
fields  on  either  side  of  us  making  a  lot  of  un- 
necessary noise  and  sending  great  clouds  of  earth 
in  the  air.  About  a  hundred  and  fifty  yards  away 
on  our  right  I  noticed  a  hare  hoppmg  along  in  a 
field  apparently  not  realising  that  he  was  in  a 
most  unhealthy  part  of  the  world.  Suddenly 
there  was  a  tearing  screaming  sound  and  a  shell 
landed  not  fifty  feet  away  from  the  poor  animal. 
For  a  moment  he  was  stunned  and  probably 
v/ondered  what  sort  of  giant  sportsmen  were  af- 
ter him,  and  then  in  a  m^ost  bewildered  way  he 
went  round  and  round  as  hard  as  he  could,  grad- 
ually increasing  the  circle,  v/hen  another  shell 


AT  BilCORBl^TSTRAFED  US 

came  and  sent  up  a  shower  of  earth.  I  thought 
my  little  friend  must  have  been  killed,  but  as  the 
air  cleared  I  saw  his  white  tail  disappearing  with 
commendable  speed  over  the  brow  of  the  hill. 

On  reaching  M e  we  got  our  horses  and 

started  back  but  had  scarcely  gone  halfway 
through  the  village  when  the  gas  gong  sounded. 
The  ominous  v/arning  sent  men  scurrying  about 
and  within  a  minute  every  one  appeared  in  gas 
helmets ;  what  a  queer  grotesque  effect  they  pre- 
sented, scarcely  human!  Being  on  horseback  we 
thought  we  could  avoid  the  gas  by  galloping,  but 
before  long  the  smell  of  the  deadly  fumes  reached 
us  and  we  had  to  put  on  our  helmets.  The  fellow 
with  me  was  only  acting  company  commander 
and  had  no  experience  with  horses ;  riding  was  in 
fact  a  painful  performance  for  him,  especially  if 
the  animal  went  faster  than  a  walk.  He  dis- 
mounted to  adjust  his  helmet  and  forgot  to  re- 
tain hold  of  his  horse  and  of  course  the  beast  went 
off,  much  to  the  fellow's  astonishment.  After 
some  difficulty  I  recovered  his  mount  for  him  and 
we  proceeded  along  the  road  warning  all  trans- 
port of  the  gas.  Horses  were  promptly  unhar- 
jiessed  and  taken  back  as  fast  as  possible,  for  in 
those  days  the  animals  were  not  provided  with 
the  protection  of  gas  helmets.    This  was  my  first 


114         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

experience  of  the  much  dreaded  gas  and  I  confess 
it  scared  me  badly.  By  the  time  we  had  gone  a 
few  miles  the  air  was  practically  clear  of  the  poi- 
son as  the  wind  had  died  down  with  the  coming 
of  evening. 


CHAPTER  VII 

In  the  Front  Line  Trenches 

Two  days  later  we  left  billets  at  V e  and 

moved  forward  in  the  usual  formation  adopted 
near  the  front  when  the  Battalions  never  move 
in.  the  ordinary  column  of  route.     This  makes 

such  8.  conspicuous  line  that  it  is  considered  un- 

J- 

safe,  so  we  move  in  platoons  several  hundred 
yards  apart.  The  road  was  so  filled  with  traffic 
of  all  sorts  that  we  were  forced  to  form  "two 
deep"  as  there  was  not  room  to  go  in  fours. 

At  the  appointed  hour  we  arrived  at  the  place 
where  our  guides  met  us  and  each  platoon  v/as 
taken  through  the  long  irregular  communication 
trench  to  its  destination;  as  it  reached  the  front 
line,  the  relieving  and  very  much  relieved  platoon 
filed  out  from  the  opposite  end  and  down  the  out- 
ward-bound trench.  In  company  with  the  ser- 
geant-major I  took  over  all  trench  stores  and 
signed  the  necessary  documents  and  bid  good-bye 
to  the  officer  in  charge,  but  not  before  he  had 
given  us  the  pleasant  news  that  after  I  had  left 

115 


116         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

the  previous  day  the  enemy  had  been  unusually 
active  and  had  given  them  a  very  bad  time  killing 
and  wounding  a  number  of  men  and  still  further 
damaging  the  trenches.  A  corner  about  ten  yards 
from  the  company  dugout  had  been  completely 
blown  away  and  a  man  who  was  passing  at  the 
time  had  vanished,  only  one  of  his  boots  having 
been  recovered.  (Later  we  found  one  of  his  legs 
nearly  a  hundred  yards  away.)  Naturally  this 
did  not  fill  us  full  of  joy,  and  I  own  to  a  feeling 
closely  akin  to  dislike  for  war  in  general  and 
trench  warfare  in  particular.  It  is  one  thing  to 
run  the  chance  of  being  killed  while  doing  some- 
thing that  looks  like  fighting,  but  to  be  potted 
while  quietly  ( ?)  holding  a  piece  of  trench  is  not 
exhilarating  at  all.    One  feels  like  a  cornered  rat. 

My  line  of  trench  included  a  frontage  of  nearly 
three  hundred  yards;  this  gave  a  hundred  yards 
to  each  of  three  platoons  while  the  fourth  was 
kept  in  reserve  in  the  suppbrt  line  a  hundred 
yards  further  back.  From  the  condition  of  the 
trenches  it  was  evident  that  the  right  sector  which 
bordered  on  the  Tambour  was  by  far  the  hottest 
part,  so  I  decided  that  those  who  held  it  should 
be  relieved  by  the  support  platoon  at  the  end  of 
^ve  days. 

By  the  time  the  men  had  been  assigned  to 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      117 

their  various  posts  the  sun  went  down  and  soon 
after  we  indulged  in  the  regular  hours'  stand-to. 
During  this  time,  every  one  is  on  duty  and  the 
fire-step  is  manned.  Nothing  occurred  to  relieve 
the  quiet  of  the  evening  except  a  volley  of  five 
rifle  grenades  which  fortunately  did  no  harm. 
After  dark  the  usual  listening  patrols  were 
posted  and  then  we  settled  down  to  the  long 
dreary  night  of  v/atching.  These  nights  seem 
very  long  and  very  monotonous,  each  side  fires  a 
number  of  shots  across  INo  Man's  Land,  both  with 
rifle  and  machine  gun,  this  constant  sharp  punc- 
tuating of  the  stillness  of  night  seems  actually  to 
add  to  the  monotony.  Each  machine  gun  is  sup- 
posed to  fire  about  a  thousand  rounds  in  short 
volleys  of  ten  or  fifteen  shots.  The  idea  is  to  dis- 
courage the  enemy  from  doing  any  prowling 
about  near  the  waste  of  IsTo  Plan's  Land  and  pre- 
vent wiring  parties  from  getting  too  much  pleas- 
ure out  of  life.  Star  shells,  or  Verey-lights,  are 
sent  up  with  a  frequency  that  is  quite  disconcert- 
ing if  one  happens  to  be  doing  any  work  outside 
of  the  parapet,  and  it  is  astonishing  how  conspicu- 
ous these  cold  blue  lights  make  a  man  feel.  Oc- 
casionally the  Huns  sent  something  over  to  re- 
mind us  that  they  were  not  asleep,  and  the  dull 


118         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

explosions  of  the  bursting  shells  made  the  still- 
ness which  followed  all  the  more  noticeable. 

At  intervals  during  the  night  the  company 
commander  is  supposed  to  go  the  round  of  his 
lines  to  see  that  everything  is  correct  and  the 
stumbling  along  the  dark  trenches,  being  chal- 
lenged at  every  bay  by  the  unseen  figures,  is  most 
uncanny.  Having  heard  that  occasionally  a  Ger- 
man, dressed  in  our  uniform,  finds  his  way  un- 
detected into  our  trenches  and  goes  along  gather- 
ing what  information  he  can,  I  had  instructed  our 
men  to  be  extremely  careful  and  let  no  man  pass 
no  matter  what  his  rank  might  be  until  he  w^as 
properly  identified.  This  caution  to  the  men  led 
to  a  somewhat  amusing  incident  a  few  nights 
later,  but  only  by  good  luck  was  it  amusing.  It 
nearly  ended  seriously. 

An  officer  of  the  tunneling  company  was  com- 
ing to  pay  me  a  visit  on  his  way  to  inspect  certain 
saps  at  the  left  of  my  line.  On  coming  round  a 
traverse  he  was  challenged  suddenly.  In  reply 
he  gave  his  name  and  business,  but  the  sentry  was 
not  satisfied  and  insisted  on  a  close  examination. 
The  officer  stood  still  while  the  sentry  with  fixed 
bayonet  approached  to  within  a  few  feet  and 
asked  numerous  questions,  at  the  same  time  call- 
ing  another   man   to  his   assistance.     Fearing 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      119 

treachery  the  overzealous  sentry  kept  his  finger 
on  the  trigger  of  the  rifle.  Probably  owing  to 
nervous  contraction  of  the  finger  the  rifle  went 
off  unexpectedly,  and  the  bullet  passed  unpleas- 
antly close  to  the  wretched  officer's  head.  It  is 
difficult  to  say  who  was  the  more  surprised  or 
frightened.  The  unfortunate  sentry  thought  at 
first  that  he  had  killed  the  officer,  but  a  vigorous 
torrent  of  colourful  language  convinced  him 
that  he  had  not  added  a  name  to  the  casualty 
list,  and  he  was  equally  convinced  as  to  the  na- 
tionality of  the  almost-victim. 

The  officer  came  to  my  dugout  and  reported 
the  matter  and  when  I  suggested  bringing  the 
man  up  for  his  behaviour  he  would  not  hear  of  it 
as  it  showed  what  he  described  as  commendable 
alertness  and  thoroughness,  the  latter  perhaps 
slightly  overdone.  Later,  I  interviewed  the  sen- 
try who  was  in  a  state  bordering  on  nervous  col- 
lapse. He  was  quite  surprised  to  find  that  no 
charge  would  be  made.  I  was  sorry  that  it  was 
not  a  German  who  had  come  along  instead  of  one 
of  our  own  fellows. 

During  the  night  most  of  the  men  are  allowed 
to  rest  unless  assigned  to  special  duty  such  as 
repair  work,  wiring  or  patrol.  A  certain  number, 
one  or  two  in  each  bay  keep  careful  watch  while 


120         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

the  others  sit  about  ready  at  all  times  for  any 
emergency,  none  being  allowed  to  enter  dugouts 
or  leave  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  their 
bay.  In  most  of  the  bays  there  is  a  gas  gong, 
usually  an  empty  brass  shell  case,  at  the  first 
suspicion  of  gas  these  gongs  are  sounded  and  as 
the  signal  goes  along  the  line  every  man  is  ready 
with  his  protection  helmet.  When  the  wind  is 
favourable  it  is  of  the  utmost  importance  that 
extra  lookouts  be  posted  to  watch  for  the  poison. 
Any  little  mist  drifting  across  No  Man's  Land  is 
likely  to  be  mistaken  for  gas  and  results  frequent- 
ly in  the  sounding  of  the  alarm.  Speed  is  so  nec- 
essary that  it  is  far  better  to  err  on  the  side  of 
pvercaution,  at  the  same  time  it  must  be  remem- 
bered that  the  gas  alarm  is  likely  to  ''put  the 
"wind  up,"  i.e.,  give  the  men  a  scare,  especially 
among  new  men,  and  so  it  is  not  advisable  that  it 
should  be  sounded  without  cause. 

To  avoid  worrying  about  the  direction  of  the 
wind,  I  made  a  very  sensitive  wind  vane.  This 
was  attached  to  an  old  bayonet  found  in  No 
Man's  Land  and  placed  outside  my  dugout  in 
^uch  a  position  that  it  was  clearly  visible.  When 
the  wind  blew  from  the  enemy  we  of  course  took 
extra  precaution.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
in  the  way  of  wind  the  Almighty  has  arranged 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      121 

things  in  our  favour  notwithstanding  the  German 
boast  of  divine  aid.  Throughout  the  North  East- 
ern part  of  France  and  Flanders  the  prevailing 
wind  is  more  or  less  westerly.  This  means  that 
we  can  employ  gas  more  frequently  than  those 
who  started  the  vile  form  of  warfare.  It  is  hard 
to  understand  how  the  Germans  could  have  been 
so  careless  when  they  made  their  compact  and 
goes  to  show  how  careful  people  should  be. 

The  men  are  so  accustomed  to  strange  and 
brutal  forms  of  German  warfare  that  they  imag- 
ine almost  anything  unusual  is  associated  in  some 
way  with  the  enemy.  An  amusing  example  of 
this  occurred  one  evening  when  an  imonense  cloud 
of  cockchafers  (insects  resembling  the  American 
June-bug,  but  rather  larger)  came  to  us  from 
the  German  line.  The  men  seeing  the  apparently 
endless  mass  of  flying  insects  thought  they  were 
in  for  some  new  Hun  horror  and  I  had  great  diffi- 
culty in  persuading  them  that  it  was  a  perfectly 
natural  phenomenon,  and  that  the  insects  were 
quite  harmless.  Although  it  is  true  that  I  had 
never  seen  the  cockchafer  in  anything  like  the 
numbers  that  appeared.  The  noise  they  m^ade 
falling  on  the  wooden  duckboards,  scrambling 
over  the  loose  chalk  or  hitting  against  our  "tin 


122         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

hats"  made  the  task  of  the  listening-posts  ex* 
tremely  difficult. 

I  did  not  attempt  to  have  any  repair  work  car- 
ried on  the  first  night  in  the  trenches  as  the  men 
were  very  tired  and  we  had  no  empty  sand  bags, 
so  beyond  sending  out  a  listening  patrol  noth- 
ing was  done.  Immediately  before  daylight  we 
had  the  customary  one  hour  stand-to  which 
passed  as  usual  without  much  excitement,  and 
then  the  men  had  their  breakfasts,  after  which 
rifles  were  cleaned  and  inspected  and  those  men 
not  detailed  for  duties  were  allowed  to  get  what 
sleep  they  could.  As  company  commander  I  had 
to  send  in  various  reports  and  I  came  to  the  con- 
clusion that  though  nominally  permitted  to  sleep 
during  the  daytime  the  permission  was  somev/hat 
of  a  joke  owing  to  the  almost  hourly  reports  on 
such  things  as  casualties,  direction  and  force  of 
wind,  number  of  grenades,  amount  of  ammuni- 
tion and  rockets  and  general  altitude  of  the  ene- 
my, and  how  many  and  what  kinds  of  shells,  etc., 
he  had  presented  to  us  and  what  we  had  re- 
turned. 

In  those  days  things  were  very  one-sided. 
The  Huns  had  apparently  endless  ammunition 
while  we  had  very  little.  So  our  reports  would 
read  something  like  this.    * 'Enemy  fairly  active. 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      123 

between  6.30  and  7.30  A.  M,  25  shells  landed 
on  our  support  line  from  point  X  to  Y  also 
45  rifle  grenades,  most  of  which  fell  near  point 
,W.  From  8  A.  M.  till  noon  30  shells  and  about 
100  rifle  grenades  fell  on  line  between  Y  and 
U.  Trench  badly  damaged.  We  retaliated  at 
9.30  A.  M.  by  firing  5,  5A  shells  at  X  20d 
i7.2  and  15  rifle  gixnades  distributed  on  enemy 
front  line  from  X  20b  7.2  and  X  26b  9.2." 
This  is  about  as  high  a  proportion  as  we  could  ob- 
tain and  showed  approximately  our  daily  allow- 
ance, while  the  Germans  would  frequently  give 
us  twice  or  even  three  times  the  above  number. 

Besides  the  reports  I  had  to  send  in  requisi- 
tions for  anything  necessary.  I  mentioned  my 
very  keen  desire  for  periscopes  every  day  but  up 
to  the  time  of  my  leaving  none  appeared,  so  we 
had  to  manage  with  our  home-made  contrivances. 
I  even  suggested  that  if  regular  periscopes  were 
not  available  I  would  greatly  welcome  penny 
mirrors  for  which  I  would  gladly  pay,  but  these 
are  not  part  of  goverrmient  stores  and  so  none 
came. 

The  mention  of  these  reports  brings  to  my 
memory  a  certain  day  when  I  felt  that  a  little 
sleep  was  due;  for  some  time  there  had  been  a 
rather  undue  amount  of  enemy  activity,  such  ac- 


124>         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

tivity  interferes  with  sleep.  So  I  determined  to 
make  up  a  little  of  the  shortage.  With  this  in 
view  I  made  out  my  reports  and  arranged  that 
they  should  be  sent  off  at  the  proper  hours,  and 
that  if  anything  occurred  while  I  was  asleep  that 
would  interfere  with  the  accuracy  of  the  said 
reports  I  was  to  be  called.  Then  having  per- 
suaded most  of  the  rats  to  leave  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  my  sacred  person  I  wrapped  my 
mackintosh  around  me  and  went  to  my  chicken- 
wire-and-sand-bag  bed.  Sleep  was  gradually 
coming,  when  with  unpardonable  rudeness  and 
customary  insistance  the  telephone  called  me, 
"Are  you  there?"  said  some  one  miles  away. 
"Yes,  unfortunately  I  am,"  said  I  in  a  very  un- 
friendly way;  "what's  wanted?" 

"Please  send  unmediately  the  names  of  any 
men  in  your  company  who  can  play  musical  in- 
struments and  what  instruments  they  can  play," 
said  the  unsympathetic  voice  from  the  region  of 
J^o-shells  and  Much-comfort. 

"What  for  and  who  for?"  said  I  with  increas- 
ing and  surprised  indignation. 

"The  Divisional  Band." 

"Damn  the  band,"  said  I  in  my  haste  and 
replaced  the  receiver  with  a  slam. 

Now  who  can  say  that  I  was  not  justified? 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      125 

Imagine  my  going  round  to  the  wretched  tired 
men  and  asking  each  one  what  instruments  they 
played.  Even  the  strictest  discipline  would  not 
have  prevented  them  from  wishing  me  in  some 
place  in  which  only  asbestos  instruments  could 
be  safely  used.  I  confess  I  felt  thoroughly  in- 
subordinate. 

I  was  much  interested  to  notice  that  my  dug- 
out received  each  day  a  great  amount  of  attention 
from  German  snipers.  The  shots  always  struck 
about  the  same  spot  which  happened  to  be  direct- 
ly over  my  "bed";  besides  the  bullets  a  few  rifle 
grenades  were  also  dropped  on  the  same  place 
at  odd  moments.  For  a  long  time  I  was  at  a 
loss  to  understand  why  this  should  be,  so  one  eve- 
ning I  crawled  over  the  parapet  and  took  a  look 
at  the  sky  line  of  my  dugout  as  seen  from  the 
enemy  point  of  view  and  discovered  a  small  stake 
protruding  about  two  feet  above  the  earth  work. 
This  evidently  was  mistaken  for  a  periscope,  and 
was  the  target  which  attracted  so  much  unwel- 
come attention;  on  removing  it  the  firing  ceased. 

My  dugout  was  a  very  primitive  affair  about 
ten  feet  square,  and  six  feet  high  with  the  floor 
two  feet  or  so  below  the  level  of  the  trench.  The 
sides  were  of  chalk,  and  the  roof  composed  of 
corrugated  iron,  covered  with  an  absurdly  thin 


126         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

layer  of  chalk,  loose  and  in  sand  bags ;  every  time 
a  shot  struck  anywhere  near,  the  chalk  would 
come  rattling  down,  and  when  a  shell  exploded 
within  a  hundred  yards  it  caused  a  regular  ava- 
lanche ;  even  the  rats,  which  were  very  numerous, 
caused  the  chalk  to  fall  so  that  sleeping  was  dif- 
ficult. Speaking  of  rats  they  really  were  a  great 
nuisance,  their  surprising  boldness  and  persis- 
tence was  extraordinary.  Food  was  taken  from 
the  table  without  the  slightest  hesitation,  even 
while  we  were  there,  and  when  it  happened  that 
we  were  called  away  during  a  meal,  if  we  forgot 
to  tell  our  servants*  to  keep  guard,  the  food 
would  completely  disappear  in  an  incredibly  short 
time.  Then,  too,  while  sleeping,  these  pests,  both 
rats  and  mice,  were  very  annoying.  Several  men 
were  quite  badly  bitten  while  asleep  and  inciden- 
tally I  may  add  having  the  brutes  run  over  one's 
body  was  somewhat  trying. 

The  "furniture"  of  the  dugout  was  of  a  thor- 
oughly primitive  description ;  it  consisted  simply 
of  a  sort  of  rough  table,  narrow  and  unsteady, 
over  which  was  a  rack  for  food.  This  was  hung 
by  wires  so  that  the  rats  and  mice  could  not  get 

*  The  word  servant,  according  to  the  custom  in  the  British  Army, 
applies  to  our  soldier  servants  who  accompany  the  officer  where- 
ever  he  goes  and  takes  care  of  his  belongings  in  case  he  is 
wounded. 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      127 

to  it  without  doing  acrobatic  stunts,  and  for- 
tunately only  a  few  were  experts  in  that  line. 
Some  ammunition  boxes  served  as  seats,  and  two 
tiers  of  bunks  made  of  very  ragged  mesh  wire 
completed  the  list.  For  illumination  we  had  can- 
dles, but  owing  to  the  scarcity  they  had  to  be  used 
sparingly.  Our  "mess"  kitchen  was  a  rough  dug- 
out less  than  fifty  feet  away  in  a  direct  line,  but 
a  couple  of  shells  had  wrought  such  havoc  in  the 
trench  between  the  two  dugouts,  that  it  was  nec- 
essary to  make  a  wide  detour  in  going  from  one 
to  the  other.  The  Huns  seemed  to  know  our  meal 
times  and  invariably  selected  the  moment  w^hen 
our  servants  were  bringing  us  food  to  drop  a  few 
of  the  cursed  riiie  grenades  on  or  near  the  path, 
and  it  was  quite  amusing  to  hear  the  servants 
apologise  for  bringing  a  soup  plate  with  scarcely 
a  spoonful  of  soup  left.  A  grenade  having  caused 
the  man  to  start  violently  while  he  was  carrying 
the  plate.  I  will  say  one  thing  for  our  service, 
we  usually  got  the  food  pretty  hot  as  speed  be- 
tween dugouts  was  alv/ays  considered  desir- 
able. Often  the  men  came  in  at  the  double,  this 
meant  that  a  shell  or  grenade  had  been  heard  in 
the  air.  The  result  was  a  race,  and  frequently  a 
wasteful  distribution  of  food  along  the  trench. 
During  the  first  few  days  I  had  done  my  shav- 


19.8         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

ing  and  washing  at  about  eight  o'clock  in  the 
morning,  but  the  Huns  latterly  selected  that  hour 
for  some  gi^enade  practice,  so  I  had  to  change  my 
plans.  I  strongly  advise  the  use  of  safety  razors 
for  trench  shaving,  as  sudden  explosions  are  apt 
to  cause  a  degree  of  jerkiness  not  at  all  conducive 
to  comfort  and  good  results  when  the  ordinary 
razor  is  being  used. 

After  the  first  night  I  started  having  the 
trenches  repaired  and  parapets  replaced,  and  by 
working  according  to  the  short  term  plan  already 
mentioned  a  fair  amount  of  work  had  been  car- 
ried out  with  very  few  casualties.  About  twenty 
minutes  was  the  limit  of  comparative  safety. 
On  several  occasions  the  working  party  had 
scarcely  left  the  place  before  trouble  would 
come,  chiefly  in  the  form  of  rifle  grenades ;  these, 
though  disastrous  to  men,  do  not  damage  the 
trenches,  but  sometimes  heavy  stuff  was  sent  over 
and  the  new  work  would  be  completely  de- 
stroyed; one  piece  of  line  I  had  repaired  eight 
times  and  when  we  left,  it  was  once  m^ore  a  mass 
of  wreckage.  Of  course  no  work  that  showed 
against  the  sky-line  could  be  attempted  by  day- 
light and  even  if  done  at  night  it  was  not  desirable 
to  make  any  conspicuous  change  or  addition,  for 


MESSAGE    SENT   BY   AUTHOR   FROM    BRIGADE   HEADQUARTERS 
DURING   THE   MORNING  OF   THE  BATTLE 


MAGNETIC  COMPASS  BEARINGS  LAID  OUT  TO  BE  FOLLOWED 
BY  THE  TWO  ASSAULTING  BATTALIONS  OF  OUR  BRIGADE 
DURING  THE  BATTLE  OF   THE   SOMME 


^f^mmeafKm 


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"  <^i»^<"i*^i^  b^'Cf 


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"Vama^uf-^tfe 


4,y^iZmX3U. 


7'hjsJi'   'WUo^ 


--iT-^ 


I'^yMj^  I    "{j^^^S^  — /; 


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^^2m  "' JTi^liiJ    "i 


CV" 


st>ii><^''*p^»~h 


P: 


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wt^ 


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DESCRIPTION  OF  ENEMY's  ATTITUDE  AS  EXPERIENCED  BY  THE 
AUTHOR  AND  HANDED  BY  HIM  TO  THE  RELIEVING  COMPANY 
COMMANDER  FOR  HIS   INFORMATION 


.J . th.:^4. 


.^Sa  ?* '.  C  '^  » 


"Q^\r4r|^ 


V«.        '^I-A^j:^^^^ 


''~^*HTP?dH'=^^^^  |-^&tv«ic— Ivwe-^ 


c^^r     -t"  fe*- 


LIST  OF  WORK  TO  BE  DONE  BY  THE  COMPANY  WHICH 

RELIEVED   THE  AUTHOR 

This  list  is  handed  to  the  new  Company  Commander  and  is 
used  by  him  as  a  clue  to  thft  work  that  has  been  done  and  what 
is  still  necessary. 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      129 

it  always  enjoyed  a  strafing  as  soon  as  the  Huns 
discovered  it. 

An  idea  of  the  number  of  sand-bags  required 
in  order  that  the  trenches  be  kept  in  fair  condi- 
tion may  be  gained  from  the  fact  that  in  my  com- 
pany hne,  which  was  between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred yards  in  length  we  used  from  1500  to  2000 
new  sand-bags  every  ten  days.  Allov/ing  that 
even  1000  were  used  on  the  average  it  gives  a 
total  of  about  70,000  per  day  for  our  entire  line, 
or  approximately  255,500,000  per  year  for  repairs 
alone.  This  may  not  be  very  exact,  as  various 
parts  of  the  line  differ  so  greatly,  still  it  gives 
some  suggestion  of  the  vast  quantity  of  this  one 
article  of  war  material  which  is  needed. 

The  trench  leading  to  my  dugout  had  been 
widened  to  such  a  degree  by  repeated  shells  that 
it  no  longer  afforded  adequate  protection.  Re- 
pairs were  urgently  needed  if  I  wished  to  con- 
tinue in  occupation,  so  one  fine  day  I  ordered 
eight  men  to  rebuild  the  sides  that  had  fallen 
down.  As  soon  as  I  had  shown  them  exactly 
w^hat  w^as  needed  I  went  into  my  dugout  to  v/rite 
out  some  reports ;  within  five  minutes  a  loud  sharp 
explosion  announced  the  arrival  of  a  rifle  gre- 
nade, following  it  came  a  cry  of  pain  and  I  rushed 
out.     The  men  had  scattered  immediately,  ac- 


ISO         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

cording  to  instructions  in  such  cases,  but  one  poor 
chap  lay  on  the  ground  badly  wounded.  Know- 
ing full  well  that  the  Germans  nearly  always 
send  a  succession  of  not  less  than  three  or  four 
grenades,  I  hastily  gathered  the  man  in  my  arms 
intending  to  carry  him  into  the  dugout,  where 
he  would  be  more  or  less  out  of  danger.  The 
ground  was  wet  and  very  slippery,  which  added 
to  my  troubles  and  made  the  man  seem  unusually 
heavy.  No  sooner  had  I  started  to  walk  than  the 
singing  of  a  grenade  warned  me  that  I  must 
hurry,  but  strange  to  say  my  feet  seemed  nailed 
to  the  ground,  and  I  simply  could  not  move,  it  was 
a  case  of  undiluted  terror,  for  I  knew  that  the 
grenade  was  coming  straight  toward  me.  I  w^as 
paralysed,  and  waited,  expecting  to  be  blown  to 
bits  the  next  instant.  My  body  might  save  the 
already  wounded  man,  but  even  that  was  doubt- 
ful, I  wanted  to  drop  the  poor  fellow  but  feared 
that  he  would  object. 

How  long  it  took  that  wretched  death-dealing 
instrument  to  fall!  Thousands  of  things  flashed 
through  my  mind  during  that  time  which  was  not 
of  more  than  a  few  seconds'  duration.  Then  at 
last  it  came  whistling  into  the  trench;  striking 
barely  three  yards  behind  me.  I  waited — but 
nothing  happened.     I  even  turned  to  look  at 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      131 

it,  and  could  scarcely  believe  my  eyes,  for  there 
it  lay  quiet  and  harmless  on  the  ground.  One 
look  was  enough.  I  moved — and  moved  quickly, 
into  the  dugout  where  I  dressed  the  man's  wounds 
before  sending  him  with  two  of  the  others  who 
were  slightly  wounded  to  the  dressing  station. 

The  grenade  was  afterward  brought  to  me,  it 
was  a  *'dud"  and  as  usual  proved  to  be  one  of 
those  made  before  the  war,  as  it  bore  the  1914 
date.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  nearly  all 
the  rifle  grenades  we  found  on  our  front  bore  the 
date  of  1914,  and  all  had  the  solid  copper  bars 
which  are  the  length  of  a  rifle  barrel  and  the  same 
diameter  as  the  bore. 

This  shows  two  things :  first,  that  the  Germans 
must  have  had  an  unheard-of  quantity  of  these 
weapons,  for  on  my  ovm  company  front,  which 
as  already  stated  was  between  two  and  three  hun- 
dred yards  in  length  we  received  from  50  to  200 
grenades  each  day;  assuming  that  even  350  were 
fired  at  every  mile  of  our  line,  it  would  mean  that 
about  35,000  were  used  each  day  on  the  British 
front  or  perhaps  9,775,000  per  year;  and  this  was 
toward  the  end  of  the  second  year  of  the  war. 
Second,  that  the  Germans  who  were  known  to  be 
short  of  copper  had  not  removed  the  unnecessary 


1S2         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

copper  bars,  for  which  a  substitute  could  have 
been  used  shows  how  busy  they  were. 

Later  on  the  repair  work  was  resumed  and  fin- 
ished in  a  few  days  without  further  mishap, 
though  there  were  several  narrow  escapes  and  no 
one  seemed  particularly  fascinated  with  the 
neighbourhood. 

Up  to  this  time  I  had  never  witnessed  a  regu- 
lar bombardment,  but  on  the  sixth  day  of  my 
spell  in  the  trenches  word  came  from  H.  Q.  that 
at  a  certain  hour  the  village  of  Fricourt  was 
to  be  well  strafed,  I  selected  a  good  position 
from  which  to  view  the  shov/  and  at  the  appointed 
moment  it  seemed  as  if  hell  were  suddenly  let 
loose.  Countless  numbers  of  projectiles,  large 
and  small,  came  screaming  through  the  still  air 
and  in  a  second  Fricourt  was  lighted  by  the  red 
glow  of  the  shells  as  they  burst  on  every  part 
of  the  wretched  village  (it  was  only  occupied 
by  the  military,  all  civilians  having  been  sent 
away  many  months  before).  The  earth  shook 
violently  with  the  terrific  explosions  and  the  din 
w^as  appalling.  Never  before  have  I  seen  a  more 
v/onderful  sight,  a  more  marvellous  pyrotechnic 
display,  and  it  gave  our  men  immense  satisfac- 
tion, for  it  showed  that  we  at  last  had  some 
shells  to  spare,  so  that  the  Huns  were  learning 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      133 

the  delights  of  being  thoroughly  shelled.  From 
the  numerous  signals  they  sent  up,  and  the  veri- 
table rain  of  their  machine-gun  bullets  that  tore 
across  No  Man's  Land,  it  was  evident  they  ex- 
pected we  were  going  to  make  an  immediate  at- 
tack. However  nothing  was  further  from  our 
minds.  We  were  simply  indulging  in  a  little 
"Hate,"  and  from  the  dilapidated  appearance  of 
Fricourt  the  following  morning  we  could  see  that 
our  gunners  had  done  some  very  excellent  shoot- 
ing. 

On  the  seventh  day  of  our  spell  in  the  trenches 
I  had  a  very  fortunate  escape  while  walking  along 
on  a  tour  of  inspection.  The  enemy  had  been 
unusually  active,  plastering  the  line  with  all 
sorts  of  disagreeable  things,  but  by  dodging  be- 
tween the  outbursts  of  fire  I  had  gone  most  of 
the  round  untouched,  though  one  of  the  men 
had  been  killed  close  by  me.  He  was  one  of  the 
best  fellows  in  the  company,  always  cheerful  and 
the  fun-maker  of  the  lot;  his  death  was  a  great 
'  blow  to  us  all.  I  had  just  passed  a  long  rather 
wide  bay  and  was  in  the  act  of  stooping  to  get 
under  an  artillery  bridge  which  crossed  the 
trench,  when  a  grenade  struck  the  edge  of  the 
parapet  not  three  feet  away  from  my  head;  the 
sound  of  the  explosion  at  such  close  quarters  was 


134         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

deafening  and  at  first  I  felt  sure  I  was  killed,  but 
fortunately  for  me  the  force  of  the  burst  passed 
immediately  over  my  head.  Had  I  been  walking 
erect  it  would  have  finished  my  army  career  with 
extreme  suddenness,  but  as  it  happened,  thanks 
to  the  protection  afforded  by  the  "tin  hat,"  the 
only  result  was  that  one  side  of  my  face  was 
paralysed  for  a  few  days,  and  of  course  the  shock 
made  me  feel  pretty  uncomfortable. 

One  of  my  duties  was  to  observe  whatever  was 
possible  of  the  enemy's  activities  and  report  the 
same.  For  several  nights  I  had  heard  a  consid- 
erable amount  of  horse  and  wagon  traffic  and 
a  lot  of  talking;  this  always  occurred  in  the  same 
place  and  at  about  the  same  hour.  I  reported 
the  facts  and  it  was  decided  that  a  little  strafing 
would  be  useful,  so  on  a  certain  evening  I  was 
told  to  observe  carefully  the  results  of  a  *'shoot" 
which  would  begin  when  I  sent  word  of  the 
sounds  of  wagons.  At  a  few  minutes  to  nine  the 
clatter  of  vehicles  sounded  clearly  in  the  still- 
ness of  the  night,  word  to  this  effect  was  promptly 
telephoned,  and  almost  immediately  a  regular 
tornado  of  shells  flew  overhead  and  burst  along 
the  road  at  the  edge  of  Fricourt.  For  two  or 
three  minutes  this  continued  then,  as  suddenly 
as  it  had  begun,  it  stopped  and  the  shrieks  of  men 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      135 

giving  hurried  orders  and  the  bumping  of  hastily 
moving  wagons  sounded  in  place  of  the  bursting 
shells.  The  wretched  Germans  evidently  imag- 
ined that  the  bombardment  had  ceased,  but  after 
a  wait  of  about  a  minute  it  was  renewed  with  in- 
creased vigour,  and  continued  for  five  or  six  min- 
utes, after  which  it  stopped,  and  not  a  sound 
could  I  hear,  apparently  the  whole  ration  party 
had  been  wiped  out  which,  from  our  point  of 
yiew,  was  quite  satisfactory. 

The  ten  days  in  the  trenches  seemed  never 
ending.  The  strain  was  monotonous  and  the  im- 
possibility of  having  a  wash  or  changing  clothes 
made  life  anything  but  a  joy.  The  lack  of  sleep 
was  trying,  especially  to  one  who  could  not 
snatch  short  naps  when  occasion  offered.  Al- 
most the  only  pleasure  was  the  daily  or  rather 
nightly  arrival  of  mail.  This  was  a  Godsend. 
Among  my  letters  I  remember  receiving  one 
from  a  great  friend  in  New  York.  It  contained 
a  detailed  account  of  a  fishing  trip  in  a  part  of 
Newfoundland  where  I  had  enjoyed  some  glori- 
ous sport  in  the  days  before  the  war.  It  told  of 
fine  salmon  being  caught,  of  delightful  camps 
on  ground  I  knew  so  well,  and  I  felt  sick  of  war, 
more  sick  than  ever  before ;  what  a  contrast  there 
was  in  the  events  spoken  of  in  the  letter  to  the 


136         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

terrible  conditions  in  which  we  w^ere  taking  part. 
The  fishing  seemed  hke  a  story  of  fairyland.  I 
wondered  what  the  future  held  in  store  for  me, 
and  I  longed  for  the  feel  of  rushing  water,  and 
the  joy  of  fishing  in  the  wonderful  wild  lands  of 
the  North. 

Not  only  were  there  letters  and  daily  papers 
from  home  but  occasional  packages,  containing 
cake  or  "smokes."  I  had  asked  my  various  friends 
and  relations  to  send  cigarettes  for  my  company, 
and  when  these  arrived  in  the  trenches  they  were 
more  than  welcome  and  it  was  a  real  pleasure  to 
distribute  them  among  the  men.  Each  day  we 
had  the  task  of  censoring  the  men's  letters.  I 
think  there  is  no  more  hated  duty  than  that.  Still 
it  is  very  necessary  The  letters  are  brought  in 
to  the  company  commander's  dugout  at  a  cer- 
tain hour,  and  every  one  must  be  read,  initialed, 
and  then  sealed.  A  few  green  envelopes  are  given 
to  the  men  who  want  to  write  of  private  affairs, 
these  are  sealed  and  the  man  signs  his  name  and 
number;  affirming  that  the  enclosed  letter  con- 
tains nothing  liable  to  censorship.  A  small  per- 
centage of  these  are  opened  by  the  censor  at  the 
base,  and  if  any  one  is  found  to  contain  military 
or  other  information  of  a  forbidden  nature  the 
writer  is  heavily  punished  and  is  not  again  al- 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      137 

lowed  to  have  green  envelopes.  The  officers  are 
trusted  more  or  less  to  keep  their  own  letters 
within  bounds,  and  they  only  have  to  put  their 
name  on  the  envelope,  as  with  the  men's  green 
envelopes,  a  few  are  opened  by  the  censor  at  the 
base. 

On  the  evening  of  our  ninth  day  w^e  were 
warned  to  look  out  for  a  mine  explosion  at  mid- 
night. I  had  never  seen  one  and  was  naturally 
very  anxious  to  know  what  it  was  like;  from 
stories  I  had  read  I  imagined  it  would  be  a  very 
spectacular  show,  so  I  waited  patiently  in  a  good 
position  about  six  hundred  j^ards  from  the  Tam- 
bour which  was  the  centre  of  the  mining  activity. 
The  night  was  clear  starlight  without  the  slight- 
est breeze,  nothing  disturbed  the  quiet  except  the 
inevitable  pinging  of  bullets  from  machine  guns. 
Suddenly  just  at  the  moment  of  midnight  there 
was  a  strange  rumbling  of  the  ground,  it  seemed 
to  rock  and  shiver;  at  the  same  time  a  curious 
light  in  the  direction  of  the  Tambour  showed  the 
ground  to  be  heaving  almost  as  though  it  were 
boiling  and  rising  slowly  to  the  accompaniment 
of  a  terrific  booming  sound.  Then  quietly  the 
boiling  ceased,  and  the  ground  settled  in  the  cen- 
tre of  the  area  and  left  a  huge  crater.  Scarcely 
had  this  happened  when  another  mine  was  fired 


188         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

and  it  acted  in  the  same  strange  way  and  in  the 
cold  glow  of  the  Verey  lights  men  could  be  seen 
hastily  taking  possession  of  one  edge  of  the  cra- 
ters, and  that  was  all,  yet  it  represented  perhaps 
months  of  work  and  many  lives,  besides  tons  of 
explosives.  The  show  was  over,  and  I  returned 
to  my  dugout  to  find  that  the  results  of  the  ex- 
plosions were  only  too  evident — for  everything 
that  could  be  knocked  down  v»^as  distributed  over 
the  ground;  a  mixture  of  chalk,  food,  boards, 
books  and  other  odds  and  ends ;  and  among  it  all 
were  several  unexploded  grenades  which  an  en- 
thusiastic subaltern  had  collected  at  various  times 
and  placed  in  a  niche  in  the  wall,  fortunately  in- 
stead of  falling  on  hard  ground  they  had  landed 
on  some  rubber  boots,  otherwise  they  might  have 
exploded  with  results  exceedingly  unsatisfactory 
to  our  dugout.  These  grenades  had  been  a  source 
of  considerable  anxiety  to  me  as  the  subaltern 
had  a  most  enquiring  turn  of  mind  and  would 
bring  all  sorts  of  strange  grenades  and  other  im- 
plements of  destruction  into  the  dugout  and 
amuse  himself  taking  them  to  pieces.  For  my 
part  I  never  could  see  anything  even  remotely 
amusing  in  the  game  and  I  finally  had  to  sug- 
gest that  grenade  investigations  would  be  much 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES      139 

more  popular  if  carried  out  in  a  more  secluded 
place. 

On  May  11th  the  officers  of  the  relieving  bat- 
talion came  to  pay  us  a  visit  and  look  over  the 
trenches,  and  I  was  glad  to  be  able  to  show  the 
amount  of  work  that  had  been  accomplished.  We 
had  used  nearly  two  thousand  new  sand-bags  in 
the  work,  as  well  as  nearly  a  thousand  filled  ones 
taken  from  the  mine  saps,  and  with  the  excep- 
tion of  two  short  stretches  toward  the  Tambour 
end  the  line  was  in  very  fair  condition.  The 
trenches  had  been  made  narrower  and  were  there- 
fore very  much  safer,  names  had  been  put  on 
each  corner,  in  fact  everything  showed  how  much 
good  work  the  men  had  done.  In  spite  of  the 
very  considerable  amount  of  shelling  to  which 
we  were  subjected  every  day  our  casualties  were 
only  about  fifteen. 

The  following  day  we  all  got  ready  to  leave, 
hours  before  it  was  necessary.  We  had  had  quite 
enough  of  the  trenches  for  the  present  and  were 
all  anxious  to  enjoy  a  wash,  and  change  our 
clothes.  Some  of  the  days  had  been  very  hot  so 
we  all  suffered  from  swollen  feet.  In  their  de- 
light at  the  prospect  of  getting  back  to  billets 
some  of  the  fellows  began  to  whistle  cheerful 
tunes  and  though  this  was  quickly  stopped,  the 


140         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

Germans  evidently  heard  it  and  concluded  that 
nothing  but  the  immediate  prospect  of  relief 
could  make  the  men  so  light-hearted.  The  result 
was  that  they  started  a  vigorous  strafe.  All  sorts 
of  stuff  was  sent  over,  shells,  ^'minnies"  and 
grenades,  and  one  could  scarcely  go  ten  yards 
along  any  trench  without  finding  pieces  of  newly 
fallen  metal.  Things  looked  very  bad,  and  I 
was  only  too  glad  when  at  three-thirty  the  last  of 
the  relief  arrived  and  I  was  able  to  hand  over 
the  responsibilities  of  holding  this  piece  of  the 
line  and  say  good-bye  to  the  extremely  unhealthy 
neighbourhood  and  wish  the  new  company  com- 
mander the  best  of  luck. 

On  reaching  the  outskirts  of  Becordel  I  se- 
lected a  quiet  place  which  seemed  well  sheltered, 
in  order  to  call  the  roll,  as  I  feared  the  company 
had  suffered  heavily  during  the  last  two  hours. 
No  sooner  were  the  men  lined  up  than  a  fairly 
big  shell  came  singing  toward  us.  It  looked  bad 
for  us  all  and  I  shouted  to  the  men  to  lie  down; 
before  the  words  were  out  of  my  mouth  the  shell 
landed  not  thirty  yards  away  in  a  small  new 
cemetery,  and  it  was  followed  by  four  others, 
all  falling  within  an  area  of  a  few  yards,  hut  not 
one  exploded.  Such  luck  was  really  remarkable, 
but  scarcely  more  so  than  the  fact  revealed  by 


A  TYPICAL  SCENE  ON  THE  ROADS,   IMMEDIATELY  BACK  OF  THE  FRONT  LINE 
DURING  A  SUCCESSFUL  ADVANCE 


IN  THE  FRONT  LINE  TRENCHES       141 

the  roll  call  that  not  a  man  had  been  killed  dur- 
ing the  bombardment  which  had  lasted  about  two 
hours  while  the  relief  was  being  carried  out. 
Luck  is  a  queer  thing  and  our  men  began  to 
think  that  Providence  was  especially  kind  to 

them,  and  they  made  the  march  to  B e  in  the 

best  of  spirits.  We  stayed  there  only  for  the 
night,  and  the  next  morning  proceeded  to  La 
N — — e,  our  favourite  billets. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

Prepaeing  fou  the  Geeat  Offensiye 

OiS"  arriving  at  La  N e  I  was  asked  whether 

I  would  care  to  take  charge  of  the  Battalion 
scouts  and  undertake  their  training,  as  the  Gen- 
eral wished  each  battalion  to  have  an  officer  and 
sixteen  reliable  men  trained  for  this  work.  I  was 
delighted  to  take  over  the  task,  and  a  few  days 
later  was  appointed  Brigade  Scout  &z  Intelli- 
gence Officer,  an  appointment  which  I  most  thor- 
oughly appreciated,  as  it  gave  me  opportunity 
to  work  out  some  novel  schemes  for  training  the 
sixty-four  men  and  four  officers  in  all  the 
branches  of  scouting.  As  most  of  my  life  had 
been  devoted  to  stalking  v»^ild  animals  the  lessons 
I  had  learned  proved  of  the  greatest  value.  The 
men  w^ere  v\^onderfully  keen,  they  took  to  the 
work  very  readily  and  were  as  good  a  lot  of  men 
as  I  have  ever  kno^vn.  I  look  back  with  utmost 
pleasure  to  the  days  spent  with  them.  We  worked 
very  hard  both  by  day  and  night  and  the  men 
became  so  enthusiastic  that  they  continued  mak- 

142 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE    143 

ing  and  developing  schemes  even  during  their 
leisure  hours. 

Among  the  things  I  had  to  teach  the  scouts 
was  how  to  take  cover  under  all  conditions  and 
make  the  best  of  any  situation.  The  men  had 
no  knowledge  of  the  value  of  protective  colour- 
ing, nor  even  knew  there  was  such  a  thing,  ex- 
cept two,  one  of  whom  had  been  a  gamekeeper 
and  the  other  a  poacher ;  of  these  two  the  poacher 
was  the  better,  he  took  to  the  work  as  naturally 
as  a  duck  takes  to  water. 

At  first  when  the  men  were  told  to  conceal 
themselves  in  woods  or  hedgerows,  in  a  position 
which  would  enable  them  to  see  without  being 
seen,  they  would  invariably  hide  behind  the  thick- 
est bush  they  could  find  and  then  break  off  any 
branches  that  happened  to  be  in  the  way,  v/ith 
the  result  that  gleaming  white  scars  stood  out 
with  conspicuous  clearness,  advertising  the  man's 
position  as  surely  as  if  he  had  hung  out  a  v/hite 
handkerchief. 

In  teaching,  the  best  way  is  to  let  people  make 
the  mistake,  point  out  how  or  why  it  is  a  mistake, 
then  let  them  discover  the  remedy.  This  makes 
them  understand  what  they  are  doing,  and  gives 
them  a  chance  to  think.  When  the  m.en  saw 
why  they  had  been  found,  I  let  them  have  an- 


144!         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

other  try,  this  time  instead  of  completely  break- 
ing the  branches  they  did  exactly  as  I  expected, 
they  bent  down,  or  partly  broke  the  branches,  so 
that  the  under  side  of  the  leaves  showed.  Now 
every  one  who  has  taken  the  trouble  to  observe 
things  outdoors  will  have  seen  that  the  under- 
side of  a  leaf  is  very  much  lighter  than  the  upper 
side;  it  shows  almost  white  if  placed  against  fol- 
iage in  its  ordinary  position.  The  men  were  very 
much  surprised  to  find  themselves  immediately 
discovered,  and  could  scarcely  believe  that  the 
upturned  leaves  had  exposed  their  carefully  se- 
lected hiding  places.  I  then  showed  them  how 
to  turn  this  peculiarity  of  the  leaves  to  advantage. 
In  going  through  woods  there  is  always  the  dan- 
ger of  losing  one's  way;  under  the  ordinary  con- 
ditions of  life  this  may  not  be  a  very  serious  mat- 
ter, but  in  the  war  game  it  may  easily  be  a  ques- 
tion of  life  or  death,  not  alone  for  the  one  who 
makes  the  mistake  but  for  many  others  as  well. 
So  I  explained  to  the  men  how  easy  it  was  to 
mark  one's  trail  by  simply  bending  twigs  so  that 
the  leaves  will  show  their  under-sides. 

The  objection  to  selecting  a  particularly  dense 
bush  was  explained  on  the  ground  that  the  eye 
was  naturally  attracted  to  any  object  that  stands 
out  from  its  surroundings,  as  it  increases  the  pos- 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE  145 

sibility  of  discovery  however  carefully  one  may 
be  hidden.  Even  though  one  might  not  actually 
be  seen,  a  chance  shot  might  easily  be  fired  just 
to  make  sure. 

The  great  importance  of  keeping  absolutely 
still,  especially  on  days  when  there  is  no  wind, 
was  demonstrated  by  placing  some  men  among 
the  bushes,  and  telling  them  to  move  very  slightly, 
while  the  other  men  looked  on.  The  least  move- 
ment of  the  leaves  immediately  caught  the  eye.  I 
explained  the  disadvantage  of  keeping  the  head 
too  close  to  the  ground  as  in  most  instances  it 
reduced  the  field  of  vision  to  such  a  degree  that 
nothing  could  be  seen  more  than  a  few  feet  away. 
The  use  of  tufts  of  grass  or  leaves  stuck  into  the 
clothes,  in  order  to  break  the  lines,  was  also  ex- 
plained with  care,  and  the  men  soon  realised  how 
important  it  was  to  select  the  vegetation  best  suit- 
ed to  the  surroundings,  also  the  importance  of  not 
making  the  effect  too  solid. 

In  carrying  out  the  work  by  practising  under 
various  conditions  we  had  some  amusing  experi- 
ences, and  in  one  instance  narrowly  escaped  get- 
ting into  trouble.  I  had  divided  the  men  into 
two  groups,  one  lot  were  to  conceal  themselves 
so  as  to  hold  a  certain  line.  The  others  had  to 
advance    without    exposing    themselves,    and  if 


146         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

possible  creep  through  the  line.  If  either  side 
caught  sight  of  a  man,  instead  of  firing  a  round 
of  blank  ammunition,  he  was  to  call  out  "dead," 
which  meant  the  man  was  out  of  action.  Of 
course  the  side  that  did  not  have  to  move  had 
every  advantage,  yet  it  happened  that  they  had 
the  greater  number  of  "casualties."  The  sides 
were  then  reversed  with  the  same  results.  This 
was  not  very  encouraging,  as  it  showed  that  the 
men  either  did  not  keep  sufncientiy  still  or  that 
they  had  not  selected  their  places  of  concealment 
with  care.  In  order  to  make  them  realise  the 
great  importance  of  carefully  selected  cover,  and 
how  greatly  the  advantage  was  with  those  who 
were  holding  the  position,  I  picked  out  my  best 
man,  the  poacher,  and  he  and  I  arranged  to  take 
the  same  line  which  the  others  had  failed  to  hold. 

We  were  working  in  a  valley  which  was  more 
or  less  wooded  and  covered  with  patches  of  shrub- 
hery.  Immediately  back  of  the  line  that  we  were 
to  hold  was  a  cottage,  with  the  usual  group  of 
out-houses  surrounding  an  ill-kept  yard.  Not 
having  heard  any  sign  of  human  beings  in  the 
neighbourhood  I  imagined  the  place  to  be  unin- 
habited, otherwise  I  should  not  have  chosen  it. 

After  explaining  to  the  men  that  we  would 
stay  within  a  certain  limited  area,  less  than  a  hun- 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE     147 

dred  yards  in  width  and  depth,  I  sent  them  off 
with  instructions  to  advance  at  a  given  time.  My 
poacher  friend  and  I  then  proceeded  to  conceal 
ourselves  with  as  much  care  as  possible.  The 
position  we  selected  afforded  an  extensive  field 
of  view  so  that  it  would  have  been  difficult  for 
any  one  to  have  approached  us  unobserved. 

In  due  course  we  saw  evidence  of  the  "enemy," 
here  and  there  a  bush  would  shake,  very  slightly 
it  is  true,  but  quite  enough  to  indicate  the  pres- 
ence of  a  moving  body.  Before  long  we  suc- 
ceeded in  catching  several  of  the  advancing  men, 
when  a  serious  complication  arose  in  the  form 
of  an  old  woman,  the  occupier  of  the  adjacent 
cottage.  It  was  most  amusing  to  watch  her  as 
she  moved  about  very  cautiously  and  with  every 
indication  of  suspicion  in  her  manner,  several 
times  she  passed  within  five  or  six  feet  of  me, 
and  of  course  I  scarcely  dared  to  breathe,  the 
poacher  who  was  about  twenty  yards  away  from 
me  was  so  convulsed  with  merriment  over  the 
situation,  especially  when  the  old  girl  planted 
herself  so  close  that  I  could  have  reached  out 
my  hand  and  touched  her,  that  he  nearly  ex- 
ploded. 

Suddenly  the  storm  burst  as  the  woman  caught 
sight  of  a  khaki  figure  crawling  stealthily  among 


148         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

some  underbrush;  the  stillness  of  the  day  was 
badly  broken  by  a  most  wonderful  flow  of  abu- 
sive language.  Translated  it  meant,  *'Here,  you 
dirty,  crawling  thief,  you  low-down  pig,  I  see 
you;  do  you  think  you  can  come  to  a  poor  old 
woman's  place  and  steal  her  chickens ;  come  along 
out,  oh!  yes,  I  see  you  right  enough  (as  the 
wretched  fellow  tried  to  make  his  escape  unob- 
served) ;  aye,  and  there's  another  one  of  you; 
come,  I  say,  or  I'll  call  my  husband  and  he'll 
shoot  the  two  of  you,  you  miserable  thieves,"  all 
this  time  she  was  getting  more  and  more  angry, 
while  the  poor  men  who  could  not  understand 
a  single  word  that  was  being  hurled  at  them,  did 
not  know  of  what  they  were  accused.  For  fear 
that  the  affair  might  end  in  trouble  I  finally 
stepped  out  from  my  place  of  concealment,  to  the 
very  great  surprise  of  the  highly  indignant 
woman  and  of  the  men,  who  had  begun  to  think 
that  I  was  lost. 

I  managed,  after  considerable  difficulty,  to  ex- 
plain that  the  men  were  entirely  innocent  of  any 
thought  of  chicken  stealing,  and  that  I  was  sim- 
ply teaching  them  to  stalk  the  Boche.  At  first 
she  looked  somewhat  incredulous,  but  when  in 
reply  to  my  blowing  the  whistle,  men  appeared 
as  though  by  magic,  from  all  sorts  of  places, 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE  149 

the  woman  realised  that  it  did  not  look  so  much 
like  a  chicken  raid  after  all.  She  was  most 
amused  when  I  showed  her  where  I  had  been 
hiding  and  explained  how  easily  she  could  have 
been  taken  a  prisoner. 

Nothing  would  satisfy  her  but  that  we  should 
come  into  her  house  and  meet  her  husband.  Un- 
der the  circumstances  we  could  not  refuse,  so  we 
all  trooped  in,  and  were  duly  presented  to  the 
husband  and  his  brother.  I  noticed  that  both 
bore  the  marks  of  war,  one  lacked  an  arm  and  the 
other  a  leg,  which  with  considerable  pride  they 
hastened  to  explain  was  the  result  of  the  Battle 
of  the  Marne.  They  were  both  men  well  past 
middle  age  and  were  among  that  lot  of  marvel- 
lous men  who  had  stemmed  the  impetuous  on- 
slaught of  the  army  which  the  Kaiser  believed 
would  conquer  not  only  France,  but  the  whole 
world. 

While  our  hostess  told  how  she  had  caught  us 
red-handed  trying  to  steal  her  chickens  and  how 
we  had  sprung  out  of  the  ground  and  captured 
her  instead  of  the  chickens,  all  of  which  greatly 
amused  the  men,  she  was  busy  pouring  out  glasses 
of  black  coffee  for  all  of  us  who  cared  to  in- 
dulge; while  we  drank  it  she  disappeared,  but 
returned  very  shortly  with  a  red  plush  album 


150         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

which  contained  photographs  of  her  five  sons,  all 
in  the  army.  With  glistening  eyes  and  a  proud 
heart  she  told  how  three  of  them  had  died  fight- 
ing for  their  country,  while  a  fourth  was  in  a  hos- 
pital seriously  wounded.  Only  one  sound  one 
left !  What  would  she  and  her  crippled  husband 
do  in  their  old  age?  The  peasants  depend  so 
much  on  their  children  for  support  when  they 
are  too  old  to  work  that  the  loss  of  sons  is  a  very 
serious  misfortune;  and  yet  when  I  suggested 
that  w^e  would  all  be  glad  to  have  the  war  end, 
she  replied  with  extraordinary  energy, 

"We  don't  want  even  to  talk  about  the  war  end- 
ing tmtil  those  German  devils  are  beaten^  heaten, 
beatenr 

How  I  wish  that  some  of  those  spineless  crea- 
tures, called  "Pacifists"  could  have  heard  that 
splendid  French  mother  speak,  she  who  had  given 
so  freely  of  her  own  flesh  and  blood,  who  had 
paid  such  a  terrible  price,  who  would  lose,  per- 
haps, her  last  son  if  the  war  continued  and  yet 
she  wished,  I  should  say,  demanded^  that  there 
should  be  no  question  of  peace  without  complete 
victory.  Victory  so  complete  that  there  shall  be 
no  possibility  of  the  treacherous  HUNS  being 
in  a  position  again  to  turn  the  world  into  a  gi- 
gantic slaughter-house.     When  I  told  the  men 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE     151 

what  the  French  woman  had  said  they  gave  her 
three  rousing  cheers.  Then  all  shook  her  toil- 
scarred  hand ;  this  was  too  much  for  her  and  she 
burst  into  a  flood  of  tears,  she  wanted  to  embrace 
them  all — her  "brave  children"  she  called  them. 
After  promising  to  return  again  soon  and  steal 
some  more  of  her  chickens  we  bid  the  kind  people 
good-bye  and  left,  all  feeling  the  better  for  the 
encounter.  It  had  done  a  great  deal  to  make  the 
men  understand  the  spirit  that  was  driving  the 
French  nation  to  such  wonderful  deeds  of  hero- 
ism. 

As  we  moved  off  I  drew  the  men's  attention  to 
the  fact  that  they  had  been  discovered  by  a 
woman  while  they  were  supposed  to  have  been 
very  carefully  concealed.  Also  that  I  had  caught 
sight  of  many  of  them,  and  that  none  of  them 
had  seen  either  the  poacher  or  me.  This  was 
during  the  early  stages  of  the  training.  They 
profited  by  each  mistake,  and  soon  developed 
extraordinary  proficiency  in  their  work.  Some- 
times I  would  send  half  of  the  party  ahead,  giv- 
ing them  perhaps  twenty  or  thirty  minutes  start, 
they  would  then  take  up  concealed  positions  with- 
in less  than  a  hundred  yards  of  the  road.  This 
was  done  with  the  idea  of  stimulating  the  powers 
of  observation  while  on  the  move.    I  would  then 


152         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

march  the  remainder  along  at  the  ordinary  pace; 
the  odds  were  with  the  hidden  men,  so  the  scores 
were  made  on  the  basis  that  a  marching  man  got 
two  points  to  his  credit  for  each  hidden  man  he 
discovered,  while  the  hidden  man  was  given 
one  point  if  he  was  not  found. 

For  men  who  were  to  be  scouts  this  sort  of 
training  was  of  great  value,  as  the  power  of  see- 
ing is  of  course  of  the  utmost  importance,  and 
strange  to  say  it  is  by  no  means  an  easy  thing  to 
teach,  or  perhaps  I  should  say,  develop.  In  order 
to  accomplish  the  desired  results  it  was  neces- 
sary to  make  the  work  as  interesting  as  possible. 
The  competitive  scoring  was  a  great  success  and 
the  men  became  extremely  keen  in  trying  to  win 
the  highest  number  of  points.  In  doing  so  they 
developed  really  remarkable  cleverness  in  con- 
cealing themselves  at  the  same  time  being  able 
to  get  a  clear  view  of  the  road,  without  which 
the  whole  point  would  have  been  lost.  At  the 
same  time  the  men  learned  how  to  use  their  eyes, 
so  they  saw  many  things  that  ordinarily  would 
have  been  passed  by  unobserved. 

To  stimulate  still  further  this  power  of  ob- 
servation I  sometimes  sent  the  men  off  in  pairs 
with  instructions  to  note  anything  they  saw  while 
on  their  way  to  a  certain  place,  then  accompany- 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE     153 

ing  the  men  over  the  same  ground  I  would  check 
I  carefully  their  notes  and  observations.  This 
taught  them  not  only  to  see  but  to  understand 
the  value  of  the  information  obtained. 

Another  phase  of  the  instructional  work  was 
teaching  the  practical  use  of  the  prismatic  com- 
pass, not  alone  as  an  aid  to  marching  in  a  straight 
line  either  by  day  or  night,  but  as  a  means,  in 
conjunction  with  a  map,  of  finding  one's  where- 
abouts, or  the  placing  definitely  of  some  object  of 
special  interest  or  importance.  At  first  the  men 
were  frightened  at  the  idea  of  doing  anything  so 
complicated,  but  in  a  very  short  time  they  became 
quite  proficient,  and  were  able  to  work  out  their 
position  on  the  map  to  within  a  few  yards,  simply 
by  means  of  observed  angles. 

It  may  be  of  interest  to  note  in  passing  that 
when  it  came  to  the  time  when  the  knowledge 
which  these  men  acquired  was  put  to  actual  use 
they  acquitted  themselves  splendidly.  They  acted 
as  guides  when  our  Battalion  went  over  the  top 
in  the  "Somme  show."  It  is  no  easy  task  to  keep 
men  headed  absolutely  straight  by  compass  bear- 
ings when  there  is  no  tangible  object  in  sight, 
especially  under  terrific  fire  such  as  our  poor  fel- 
lows were  compelled  to  face  when  they  headed 
for  the  German  line.    I  regret  to  say  that  of  the 


154»         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

forty-four  Brigade  scouts  scarcely  more  than  a 
dozen  escaped  either  wounds  or  death  on  that 
fateful  first  of  July. 

On  the  23rd  we  moved  back  to  B e.  Dur- 
ing this  period  much  of  my  time  was  devoted  to 
making  sketches  of  the  German  positions,  as  the 
General  was  anxious  to  have  drawings  made 
which  would  enable  the  officers  and  men  to  iden- 
tify the  various  landmarks  at  a  glance.  At  times 
the  sketching  proved  somewhat  exciting,  as  it 
meant  having  to  crawl  out  in  the  open  in  very 
exposed  positions  in  order  to  obtain  comprehen- 
sive views  of  the  country. 

On  one  particular  day  I  rode  with  my  orderly 
to  within  a  mile  or  so  of  the  front  line  and  hav- 
ing left  the  horses  in  the  shelter  of  a  wood,  pro- 
ceeded on  foot  across  a  part  of  the  country  which 
was  being  shelled  intermittently.  To  obtain  the 
required  view  I  was  obliged  to  crav/l  to  the  crest 
of  a  bare  hill  some  distance  away  from  the  pro- 
tection of  any  trenches,  and  eventually  I  reached 
the  desired  position.  In  order  to  make  the  re- 
quired compass  observations,  I  found  it  neces- 
sary to  sit  up  and  so  render  myself  unpleasantly 
conspicuous  in  the  landscape ;  whether  or  not  the 
Germans  detected  me  I  cannot  say  for  certain 
but  I  do  know  that  within  a  few  minutes  whiz- 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE     155 

bangs  began  to  arrive  with  alarming  regTilarity. 
Occasionally  by  way  of  variety  a  larger  shell 
would  come  and  throw  a  great  column  of  earth 
in  the  air,  or  a  shrapnel  would  send  a  shower  of 
lead  all  about  the  neighbourhood;  curiously 
enough  all  these  shot  fell  in  a  semi-circle  in  front 
of  me  and  about  a  hundred  to  a  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  away.  Now  making  sketches  with  proper 
precision  is  a  very  enjoyable  occupation  in  a 
peaceful  place,  but  when  one  is  drawing  a  minute 
piece  of  detail,  and  a  noisy  shell  comes  along 
screaming  and  scattering  metal  in  a  most  indis- 
criminate manner,  one's  hand  does  not  keep  as 
steady  as  it  should  and  I  found  my  sketches  were 
decorated  with  sundry  unnecessary  lines  which 
meant  nothing  to  the  casual  observer,  but  each 
scratch  showed  that  I  had  been  scared,  so  scared 
indeed  that  I  wondered  whether  the  years  I  had 
devoted  to  the  gentle  arts  of  drawing  and  paint- 
ing could  not  have  been  spent  to  better  advan- 
tage learning  how  to  dodge  enemy  shells. 

However,  the  work  had  to  be  done,  and  after 
an  hour  or  so  I  became  somewhat  used  to  the 
conditions,  and  even  found  myself  enjoying  the 
exquisite  singing  of  the  larks.  It  was  surpris- 
ing how  little  attention  they  paid  to  the  sound 
of  the  shells.  The  beauty  of  the  uninhabited  land- 


156         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

scape  in  this  No  Man's  Land  made  one  of  the 
many  sharp  contrasts  of  this  strange  scene.  It 
had  been  abandoned  by  the  farmers  for  nearly 
two  years  and  the  ground  instead  of  bearing  rich 
crops  of  grain  was  covered  with  a  mass  of  scarlet 
poppies,  growing  in  riotous  profusion  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  see,  a  strange  wild  garden,  its  col- 
our red  as  the  blood  that  was  soon  to  be  shed  so 
lavishly  along  this  great  battlefield  of  the  Somme. 

Cutting  through  the  deserted  fields  were  the 
narrow,  white,  chalk-edged  trenches,  our  own  and 
those  of  the  Germans,  like  giant  white  threads, 
forming  a  net-work  over  the  rolling  country.  In 
the  middle  distance  red-roofed  villages  nestled 
snugly  among  the  rich  green  woods,  the  very  pic- 
ture of  peace,  broken  only  by  the  endless  com- 
municating trench  systems.  These  were  the  arter- 
ies of  modern  warfare  through  which  flowed  the 
living  blood  in  the  form  of  man.  Still  further  be- 
yond in  the  blue  mists  of  the  summer  day  were 
more  woods,  some  large,  some  mere  dots  of  green, 
and  more  villages  almost  lost  in  the  filmy  atmos- 
phere. Here  and  there  the  burst  of  a  large  shell 
disturbed  the  beautiful  scene  and  made  one  realise 
how  deceptive  was  the  air  of  tranquillity. 

Sometimes  it  is  rather  difficult  to  locate  one's 
exact  position  owdng  to  the  lack  of  landmarks 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE    157 

which  may  be  used  for  observation,  and  in  order 
to  check  the  panoramic  drawings  it  is  quite  nec- 
essary that  the  point  from  which  the  observations 
are  made  shall  be  accurately  given.  While  I  was 
crouching  low,  at  the  same  time  trying  to  get  my 
head  high  enough  from  the  ground  to  enable  me 
to  discover  well-defined  landmarks,  I  spotted  a 
v/ind-mill.  Now  all  wind-mills  are  marked  on 
our  maps,  so  they  are  most  useful,  even  when 
v/recked,  as  they  usually  are  anywhere  near  the 
scene  of  activities.  Having  secured  a  careful 
compass  reading  on  my  wind-mill  which  pro- 
truded over  the  edge  of  a  nearby  hill,  I  searched 
vainly  on  my  map  for  the  said  mill.  True  there 
was  one  more  or  less  in  the  supposed  direction,  but 
taking  that  in  connection  v/ith  my  other  refer- 
ence points  placed  me  between  the  first  and  sec- 
ond line  of  Boche  trenches,  a  most  unliealthy  po- 
sition, not  at  all  suited  to  my  tim.id  nature.  I 
puzzled  over  the  question  and  finally  took  a 
chance  and  stood  upright  for  a  minute  fraction 
of  a  second. 

To  my  great  surprise  the  "wind-mill"  proved 
to  be  the  spire  of  the  church  at  Albert,  the  Lean- 
ing Virgin  appearing  as  one  of  the  arms.  This 
extraordinary  metal  statue  of  the  Virgin  Mary 
and  the  Child  Jesus,  though  weighing  tons,  was 


158         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

partly  dislodged  by  a  German  shell,  but  instead 
of  falling  it  only  leaned  over  at  right-angle  to 
the  tower,  and  in  this  strange  attitude  it  has  re- 
mained ever  since,  though  the  church  is  complete- 
ly wrecked.  According  to  popular  superstition 
the  war  will  not  end  until  the  statue  has  fallen. 
According  to  recent  reports  Albert  has  been  cap- 
tured by  the  Germans.  If  this  is  true  the  bronze 
statue  will  probably  be  taken  away  and  melted 
down  for  the  manufacture  of  shells. 

As  a  rule  when  out  on  sketching  excursions  I 
preferred  to  go  alone,  it  reduced  the  risk  of  be- 
ing seen.  One  man  being  less  than  half  as  con- 
spicuous as  two,  and  it  seemed  scarcely  fair  to 
ask  a  fellow  to  crawl  about  in  exposed  places  and 
keep  him  there  doing  nothing.  The  inactivity 
is  not  good  for  any  one's  nerves,  besides  having 
the  man  with  me  was  always  an  inducement  to 
hurry  the  v/ork,  and  so,  as  I  said,  I  prefer  going 
alone.  This  preference  placed  me  in  a  curious 
predicament  one  day  when  I  had  to  crawl  out 
into  No  Man's  Land  in  front  of  a  piece  of  our 
trench  which  was  very  thinly  occupied. 

None  of  the  men  holding  our  line  had  seen  me 
go  over,  for  the  day  was  so  quiet  that  beyond  a 
very  occasional  rifle  shot  there  was  no  sign  of  ac- 
tivity in  the  sector.    It  was  this  quietness  which 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE     159 

induced  me  to  go  out  in  front  where  I  could  se- 
cure a  particularly  good  view.  The  sketch  being 
finished,  the  last  part  done  rather  hurriedly  owing 
to  the  unpleasant  attentions  of  an  enemy  sniper, 
I  returned,  crawling  on  my  tmnmy  in  as  incon- 
spicuous and  rapid  a  manner  as  possible  to  our 
trenches.  Just  as  I  reached  the  parapet,  when  I 
was  by  no  means  anxious  for  any  delay,  a  broad 
Scotch  voice  hailed  me  and  wanted  to  know  w^ho 

the I  was  and  what  the I  was  doing. 

(I  won't  give  the  exact  words  because  when  a 
Scot  becomes  emphatic  his  language  does  not 
look  well  in  cold  print.)  I  tried  to  explain  who 
I  was  and  what  I  was  doing,  and  even  showed 
my  Brigade  badge,  all  the  time  trying  with  con- 
siderable persistence  to  get  on  what  should  have 
been  the  safe  side  of  the  parapet.  The  shelter  of 
the  trench  made  a  particularly  strong  appeal  to 
me  ov>^ing  to  the  frequent  shots  which  came  un- 
duly adjacent  to  my  anatomy.  But  I  was  very 
much  betv/een  the  devil  and  the  sea  for  the  Scot 
insisted  on  k'eeping  me  covered  with  his  rifle 
while  he  wanted  to  know  where  my  orderly  was. 
In  my  enthusiasm  for  the  work  I  had  for  the 
moment  quite  forgotten  that  an  officer  was  not 
allowed  to  walk  through  the  trenches  unaccom- 
panied by  his  orderly.     So  I  replied  that  I  had 


160         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

left  my  orderly  to  wait  for  me  in  B e  wood. 

Fortunately  at  this  moment  an  officer  came 
along  and  he  kindly  allowed  me  to  get  into  the 
trench  that  I  might  finish  the  argument  without 
the  assistance  of  bullets,  and  it  was  astonishing 
how  great  was  my  affection  for  that  particular 
trench.  However,  my  troubles  were  not  yet  over, 
as  the  officer  hearing  that  I  had  been  seen  coming 
from  the  direction  of  the  enemy's  lines, — they 
were  scarcely  two  hundred  yards  away, — decided 
that  I  must  be  placed  under  arrest,  and  I  was 
duly  taken  before  the  commanding  officer.  I 
tried  to  explain  who  and  v>^hat  I  was  and  why  I 
had  been  out  in  front  of  the  lines,  but  he  did  not 
seem  to  like  my  face  and  was  very  suspicious. 
In  the  end  I  induced  him  to  telephone  H.  Q.  and 
get  a  description  of  my  facial  adornments,  etc. 
The  result  was  that  eventually  I  was  released, 
much  to  the  disappointment  of  the  man  who 
had  first  spotted  me;  poor  fellow,  he  was  sure 
that  he  had  landed  a  German  spy,  and  it  was 
a  great  pity  to  have  disappointed  him. 

As  I  made  my  way  back,  the  advisability  of 
obeying  the  order  regarding  going  unaccom- 
panied got  safely  into  my  brain,  and  I  deter- 
mined that  not  again  would  I  be  caught  playing 
a  lone  hand.     On  returning  to  billets  I  passed 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE    161 

through  the  woods  of  B e  and  was  interested 

to  see  what  great  changes  had  taken  place  since 
the  days  when  we  had  been  stationed  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood. Wherever  we  looked  there  were  guns, 
large  guns,  very  large  guns  and  small  ones  of 
every  kind  and  description.  All  hidden  most 
cunningly  in  every  available  position,  the  woods 
fairly  bristled  with  them  and  the  sight  was  good 
to  behold.  Our  friend  the  enemy  had  something 
coming  to  him  and  the  thought  made  me  very 
happy. 

As  my  orderly  remarked,  *'The  Boche  is  cer- 
tainly going  to  get  hell  when  all  those  guns  get 
going." 

Well,  it  was  about  time,  he  had  been  giving  us 
a  good  dose  of  hell  for  a  long  while,  and  it  was 
only  fair  that  v/e  should  return  something.  The 
one-sided  game  is  good  enough  but  it  becomes 
very  monotonous  after  a  while. 

Among  my  various  duties  I  had  to  spend  some 
days  in  an  F.  O.  P.  (forward  observation  post) 
as  observation  officer.  This  meant  that  I  must 
report  both  our  own  and  the  enemy's  fire.  The 
number  and  size  of  shells  and  the  results  of  the 
work.  An  O.  P.  or  "O.  Pipf'  as  it  is  usually 
called  (the  letter  P  being  pronounced  "pip"  to 
avoid  being  mistaken  for  B  while  speaking  on  the 


162         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

telephone),  is  constructed  with  the  utmost  care 
to  render  it  as  inconspicuous  as  possible,  while 
it  offers  a  comprehensive  view.  The  opening 
through  which  one  is  supposed  to  see  everything 
is  a  long,  narrow,  horizontal  slit,  commonly  called 
a  "squint  hole,"  which  must  be  invisible  from  the 
front  view.  Smoking  in  the  place  is  strictly  pro- 
hibited as  the  smoke  curling  through  the  slit 
would  proclaim  to  the  enemy  the  position  of 
the  post,  and  w^ould  result  in  a  most  undesirable 
and  immediate  shelling.  The  greenhorn  will  oc- 
casionally thrust  the  end  of  a  telescope  at  the 
very  edge  of  the  opening  and  this  always  results 
in  an  extraordinary  and  very  prompt  flow"  of  lan- 
guage from  his  fellow  occupants,  much  to  the 
surprise  of  Lieut.  Greenhorn,  who  comes  to  the 
conclusion  that  his  fellow  beings  are  unduly  par- 
ticular and  perhaps  rather  cowardly.  But  he 
soon  learns  his  lesson,  and  having  learned  it  usu- 
ally regains  his  popularity.  Telephones  are  con- 
nected to  the  various  batteries  and  headquarters 
so  that  all  information  is  sent  and  received  with 
promptness. 

The  work  of  the  artillery  F.  O.  O.*  is  of  the 
utmost  importance.  He  reports  the  shots  of  his 
batteries  and  gives  instruction  as  to  any  changes 

*Forward  observation  officer. 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE  163 

necessary  in  range  and  direction  and  generally 
acts  as  the  eye  of  the  gunners.  Accuracy  is  of 
course  most  desirable  for  the  slightest  mistake 
may  cause  untold  trouble.    There  was  an  instance 


ffOSt 


\ 


5. 


of  this  sort  related  to  me  that  will  give  an  idea 
of  what  momentary  carelessness  may  accomplish. 
In  the  O.  P.,  shown  on  the  diagram,  was  the  of- 
ficer observing  for  his  batteries,  their  direction 
being  designated  by  the  arrow.     Several  shots 


164         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

having  been  fired  with  the  desired  effect  at  the 
point  in  the  enemy  trenches  marked  "A"  the  F. 
O.  O.  wished  his  battery  to  give  some  attention  to 
the  point  marked  "B"  where  there  was  reason  to 
beheve  the  enemy  had  a  trench  mortar  battery 
concealed,  so  he  telephoned  to  fire  at  a  point  so 
many  degrees  left,  but  forgot  to  increase  the 
7^ange,  Scarcely  had  he  sent  the  message  than  he 
remembered  the  omission  and  realising  that  the 
change  of  direction  would  bring  the  shots  directly 
on  to  the  O.  P.,  he  quickly  seized  the  telephone 
with  the  intention  of  rectifying  the  mistake  before 
it  was  too  late,  but  the  wires  had  been  cut  by  a 
shell.  Of  course  there  was  no  time  to  find  the 
break,  to  get  out  of  the  post  v/as  the  only  thing 
possible.  As  he  was  in  the  act  of  giving  the  men 
instructions  to  make  a  bolt  for  it,  the  first  shell 
from  his  own  battery  landed,  a  direct  hit  on  the 
O.  P.  The  unfortunate  ofiicer  was  instantly  killed 
as  were  two  of  the  men.  The  others  though  more 
or  less  injured  succeeded  in  making  their  escape. 
One  day  when  I  was  in  the  O.  P.  a  battery  of 
large  guns  was  trying  to  find  a  very  troublesome 
enemy  gun  which  was  situated  about  a  mile  in 
front  of  us,  and  was  believed  to  be  in  a  certain 
small  wood.  We  were  told  to  watch  the  effect 
of  the  shooting  at  a  given  moment.  In  due  course 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE    165 

we  heard  the  big  shell  humming  through  the  air, 
it  fell  about  seventy  yards  to  the  right  of  the  lit- 
tle wood  where  it  kicked  up  a  bit  of  earth,  but  it 
proved  to  be  a  "dud"  and  like  all  good  and  well- 
behaved  duds  it  failed  to  explode.  A  moment 
later  with  the  aid  of  my  glasses  I  saw  a  German 
leave  the  shelter  of  the  trees  and  go  to  where  the 
*'dud"  lay  partly  buried.  He  bent  down  and 
examined  it  with  the  evident  intention  of  reading 
the  markings  on  the  nosecap  in  order  that  he 
might  know  how  far  it  had  come,  and  so  get  the 
range  of  our  battery.  Having  found  what  he 
wanted  he  returned  to  the  place  where  his  gun 
was  so  cleverly  concealed,  resolving  no  doubt  to 
"find"  our  gun  later  on.  But  he  had  given  us 
the  exact  position  of  his  own  battery,  and  natur- 
ally no  time  v/as  lost  in  communicating  this  in- 
teresting fact  to  our  gunners,  who  sent  three 
shells  in  quick  succession,  and  it  was  with  the 
greatest  satisfaction  that  we  saw  a  terrific  ex- 
plosion occur  in  the  place  where  our  foolish  Hun 
had  disappeared  into  the  woods.  Result:  exit 
German  battery  including  the  foolish  Hun. 

On  June  1st  we  moved  to  M e.    The  billet 

assigned  to  me  was  in  a  small  partly  ruined  cot- 
tage, partly  ruined  inasmuch  as  it  lacked  a  fair 
share  of  its  original  roof,  one  wall  was  half  gone. 


1G6         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

and  another  had  a  decent-sized  hole  in  it,  and  of 
course  there  was  no  glass  in  the  windows.  Still 
it  was  not  a  bad  billet  considering  that  it  was  en- 
tirely exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  enemy  whose 
trenches  could  be  seen  from  the  roof.  Hov/  it 
happened  that  any  of  the  building  remained  was 
a  mystery. 

My  admirable  servant  promptly  proceeded  to 
make  me  comfortable,  from  some  unknown  source 
(I  never  asked  awkward  questions)  he  procured 
some  straw  for  my  bed,  and  when  one  sleeps  on 
cold  and  highly  irregular  tiling  whose  symmetry 
has  been  disturbed  by  sundry  chunks  of  iron 
from  bursting  shells,  the  straw  is  a  most  com- 
forting sub-stratimi  to  the  *'fiea-bag."  A  partly 
broken  packing-case  came  (probably)  from  the 
quartermaster  or  the  A.  S.  C.,*  that  was  my 
washstand,  another  box  served  as  a  chair,  after 
various  protruding  nails  had  been  removed,  and 
the  inevitable  bottle  devoted  itself  to  holding  a 
precious  candle.  My  room  was  complete  with  all 
the  luxury  that  any  one  could  wish,  and  I  only 
hoped  the  Hun  would  abstain  from  his  customary 
careless  habit  of  dropping  shells  on  unoffending 
ofRcers  and  damaging  their  "  'appy  'omes." 

It  was  arranged  that  I  should  mess  with  my 

*  Army  Service  Corps. 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE  167 

old  friends,  the  ofRcers  of  company — the 

j  oiliest  lot  of  fellows  that  ever  lived.  Our  mess 
billet  was  a  large  house  in  unusually  good  condi- 
tion on  the  side  of  the  village  nearest  the  Ger- 
mans. In  front  of  us  on  one  side  was  a  large 
open  field  which  was  unused  because  of  its  ex- 
posed position.  The  village  itself  though  fre- 
quently shelled  still  contained  a  fair  number  of 
its  original  civilian  population,  and  they  in  most 
cases  kept  shops  from  which  we  procured  various 
luxuries — at  war-zone  prices,  of  course. 

It  was  early  in  the  afternoon  when  we  arrived, 
very  hot  and  very  dusty.  Oranges  were  suggested 
as  food  befitting  the  occasion.  So  one  of  the  serv- 
ants was  sent  out  for  some.  He  returned  in  a 
short  time  with  a  large  bag  of  very  inferior  fruit 
purchased  at  a  very  superior  price.  The  first 
orange  taken  from  the  bag  was  partly  bad.  Now 
a  bad  orange  is  a  tempting  missile  and  this  fact 
was  discovered  by  the  fellow  who  examined  it — 
Biff^  and  it  went  across  the  room  narrowly  miss- 
ing a  fellow's  head  and  smashing  itself  in  a 
nasty  juicy  mess  on  the  wall.  Needless  to  say 
within  a  few  seconds  an  orange  fight  was  in  full 
swing,  seven  full-grown,  able-bodied  men  all  go- 
ing it  as  hard  as  they  could. 

Suddenly  above  the  sounds  of  laughter  came 


168         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

the  screeching  of  a  shell,  followed  almost  imme- 
diately by  a  loud  explosion.  But  this  did  not  in 
any  way  interfere  with  the  orange  fight.  One 
fellow  indeed  stopped  for  a  second  to  see  where 
the  shell  had  landed — it  was  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  from  the  house — and  as  he  looked 
through  the  broken  window  several  oranges 
caught  him,  direct  hits  they  were,  as  he  had 
not  had  time  to  dodge.  For  nearly  an  hour  the 
orange  fight  and  the  strafing  continued  and  only 
for  brief  moments  when  a  shell  would  come  ex- 
tremely near  did  any  one  stop  to  look  at  them. 
I  relate  this  incident  because  it  shows  two  things ; 
first,  the  delightful  boyish  good  spirits  of  our  fel- 
lows, who  can  of  course  be  quite  serious  enough 
when  it  is  necessary;  and  second,  how  little  at- 
tention is  paid  to  ordinary  shell  fire  as  men  be- 
come so  thoroughly  accustomed  to  it. 

The  day  after  our  arrival  at  M e,  I  received 

news  from  home  which  made  my  immediate  re- 
turn for  a  few  days  most  urgent.  Unfortunately 
my  regular  leave  was  not  due  for  nearly  two 
weeks,  but  as  I  was  on  the  Brigade  staif  my  going 
would  not  interfere  with  the  leave  of  any  one  else, 
so  I  applied  to  the  General,  stating  that  I  would 
gladly  give  up  my  full  ten  days,  due  later,  if  only 
I  could  have  three  clear  days  at  once.     To  my 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE     169 

surprise  and  delight  my  full  ten  days'  leave  was 
granted  and  needless  to  say  after  I  had  handed 
over  my  work,  and  made  out  the  necessary  re- 
ports, I  lost  not  a  second  in  packing  and  getting 
oiF. 

Bairnsfather — ^bless  him  for  the  good  laughs 
jthat  he  has  given  us — ^has  depicted  in  his  delight- 
;ful  drawings  some  of  the  incidents  connected  with 
the  "leave  train."  I  feel  that  it  is  scarcely  neces- 
sary for  me  to  do  more  than  suggest  that  the 
reader  glance  at  those  drawings  and  he  will  un- 
derstand the  situation  of  the  man  who  goes  on 
leave.  Trains  viay  go  slower,  and  stop  more 
frequently,  and  be  more  crowded,  but  I  doubt  it. 
Of  course  every  one  is  impatient  to  get  home  once 
he  starts,  even  though  the  actual  time  of  leave 
does  not  begin  till  you  are  on  the  boat. 

To  make  matters  worse  when  we  got  to  Amiens 
we  had  the  mortification  of  reading  the  jirst  re- 
port of  the  naval  battle  of  Jutland  and  nothing 
more  depressing  was  ever  offered  for  the  con- 
sumption of  a  Britisher.  It  is  difficult  to  de- 
press men  going  on  leave  from  the  front,  but 
seldom  have  I  seen  a  more  sober  lot  than  we 
were. 

To  be  beaten  on  land  was  one  thing;  of  course 
we  quite  expected  to  get  an  occasional  smash. 


170         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

but  on  the  sea,  it  was  unthinkable.  Yet  there 
it  was  in  cold  black  and  white.  We  read  it  and 
re-read  it  and  some  fellow  finally  remarked,  "Oh, 
I  bet  there's  something  wrong,"  and  thank 
Heaven  he  was  right. 

Eventually,  notwithstanding  the  sundry  and 
various  delays,  v.^e  reached  England.  How  de- 
lightfully peaceful  it  seemed!  No  appearance 
of  war,  every  one  cheerful,  yes,  it  certainly  was 
nice  to  be  home,  even  if  the  object  of  my  coming 
was  a  dreary  one,  for  the  war  had  hit  me  hard,  so 
hard  indeed  that  I  had  been  forced  to  sell  my 
house ;  it  was  a  wrench,  but  after  all  there  was  no 
use  in  worrying,  the  thing  had  to  be  done. 

Every  one  in  England  was  talking?  about  the 
impending  offensive,  the  air  was  full  of  expec- 
tancy and  hope.  The  coming  show  was  to  finish 
the  war  according  to  the  general  idea  and  we  were 
all  to  be  home  for  Christmas.  The  munition 
workers  had  given  up  their  holidays  that  they! 
might  be  able  to  furnish  shells  to  the  very  limit 
of  their  power,  and  the  Hun  was  to  discover' 
England's  might.  This  was  all  very  fine  and  I 
hoped  the  popular  predictions  would  be  correct. 
Of  course  I  was  not  allowed  to  tell  anything 
about  what  was  going  on  at  the  front,  nor  when 
the  offensive  was  to  start. 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE    171 

By  way  of  information  I  may  tell  the  reader 
in  strict  confidence  that  of  course  I  did  not  know, 
though  when  I  said  so  in  reply  to  the  oft-repeated 
question,  it  would  be  received  with  a  knowing 
wink.  People  do  not  realise  how  very  little  infor- 
mation is  given  to  us  at  the  front.  Most  of  our 
news  comes  from  the  English  papers  which  fre- 
quently Yv^e  receive  on  the  day  of  publication. 
Then  v/e  have  "Comic  Cuts"  as  the  official  ac- 
count of  the  daily  happenings  connected  with  the 
world's  v/ar  is  disrespectfully  called;  beyond 
these  sources  of  information  we  know  very  little. 

JSIy  short  leave  ended  only  too  soon,  and  once 
more  I  found  myself  on  the  platform  with  hun- 
dreds of  others  headed  for  the  "trenches/'  and 
the  platform  was  as  usual  crowded  with  those 
heroic  women  who  tried  to  look  cheerful  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  in  their  hearts  they  knew  what 
was  to  come  within  a  few  weeks,  and  no  matter 
whether  the  big  offensive  was  a  success  or  not, 
the  toll  would  be  enormous.  Yet  tears  were 
withheld  and  smiles  prevailed.  What  those  smiles 
cost,  God  alone  knows. 

The  return  to  France  was  made  with  the  rapid- 
ity which  characterises  all  journeys  which  lead 
away  from  home.  Delays  would  have  been  al- 
most welcome,  but  they  did  not  happen.     Con- 


172         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

nections  were  made  with  aggravating  punctual- 
ity, in  marked  contrast  to  the  apparent  slowness 
and  delays  of  the  homeward-bound  trains. 

At  Amiens  the  train  was  supposed  to  wait 
about  half  an  hour,  so  I  took  the  opportunity  to 
see  the  R.  T.  O.  (the  Railroad  Transport  Of- 
ficer ;  he  is  the  general  information  bureau  who  is 
supposed  to  know  where  every  unit  is,  or  should 
be,  and  how  you  are  to  find  your  way  to  it). 
There  were  many  ahead  of  me  and  when  I  finally 
reached  the  good  chap  and  asked  him  where  our 
Brigade  might  be  found,  he  told  me  with  quiet 
unconcern  that  my  train,  the  one  on  which  I  had 
come,  was  due  to  have  started  ^ve  minutes  ago. 
I  rushed  out  and  along  the  platform  just  in  time 
to  see  it  disappearing  in  the  smoky  distance,  on 
it  was  all  my  kit.  Had  I  been  homeward  bound 
this  would  have  been  a  calamity,  but  under  the 
conditions  I  took  it  most  philosophically  and 
simply  contented  myself  with  wiring  ahead  to 
my  station  requesting  the  M.  P.  (Military  Po- 
lice— ^very  useful  people!)  to  take  the  kit  out  of 
the  train.  A  good  meal  being  quite  in  order,  the 
time  between  then  and  the  departure  of  the  next 
train,  and  fortunately  there  was  a  next  one,  was 
spent  to  the  best  advantage. 

In  due  course  I  reached  my  destination  which 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE    173 

by  good  fortune  was  La  N e  and  reported  to 

the  Brigade  Major.  Then  I  was  told  that  our 
Brigadier  had  left  us.  This  was  a  great  blow 
for  we  were  all  very  fond  of  him.  He  was  badly 
broken  up  at  the  sudden  change  as  he  had  looked 
forward  with  the  keenest  interest  to  the  coming 
offensive  in  the  preparation  for  which  he  had 
worked  so  hard.  The  following  day  his  succes- 
sor arrived.  He  was  a  much  younger  man  and  he 
immediately  won  our  hearts  by  his  kindness  and 
good  humour  and  very  business-like  ways.  This 
was  his  first  Brigade  and  naturally  he  was  much 
pleased  with  life.  It  has  never  been  my  good 
fortune  to  be  among  a  finer  lot  than  those  on  the 
staff.  The  Brigade  Major  in  particular  w^as,  I 
think,  the  most  delightful  man  I  have  ever  known 
and  as  my  work  was  almost  entirely  with  him,  I 
felt  more  than  content. 

We  spent  much  of  our  time  making  notes  and 
sketches  of  positions,  and  in  visiting  the  trenches 
that  the  Brigade  was  to  occupy  in  the  "Push," 
and  I  had  to  take  the  scouts  to  a  point  overlook- 
ing the  front  and  explain  the  various  landmarks 
and  what  would  be  the  scouts'  part  in  the  coming 
attack.  For  it  was  now  no  longer  a  secret  that 
the  big  offensive  was  to  begin  within  a  couple  of 
weeks,  and  of  course  every  one  was  keyed  up  with 


174         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

excitement.  The  men  did  not  mind  how  hard  the 
work  was,  they  never  do  when  the  object  is  clear. 
The  scouts  were  intensely  interested  in  studying 
the  ground  over  which  the  attack  v/as  to  be  made, 
and  with  the  aid  of  the  panoramic  sketches,  in 
conjunction  with  the  excellent  maps  with  v/hich 
we  were  furnished,  they  easily  identified  the  most 
important  features  of  the  land.  Hitherto  they 
had  only  seen  the  country  in  front  of  our  line 
from  the  trenches  which  are  seldom  constructed 
with  the  idea  of  affording  extended  views,  but 
the  point  I  had  selected  for  instructional  pur- 
poses was  a  new  communication  trench  on  a 
fairly  high  hill  about  four  thousand  feet  from 
v/here  we  were  to  start  in  the  attack.  This  com- 
manded a  splendid  view  of  the  enemy  country 
and  showed  nearly  all  the  trenches  that  were  of 
direct  interest  to  us. 

In  speaking  of  the  maps  we  use  it  might  be 
of  interest  to  the  reader  to  know  with  what  ex- 
treme care  they  are  made.  The  reproduction 
opposite  will  give  a  slight  idea  of  these  maps, 
though  owing  to  the  reduction  in  its  size  it  does 
not  do  justice  to  the  original.  All  the  trenches, 
railways,  and  other  works  carried  on  by  the  en- 
emy are  put  in  from  aeroplane  photographs.  It 
was  part  of  my  duty  each  day  to  go  over  great 


SKETCH  OF  TRENCHES  OCCUPIED  BY  THE  AUTHOR 

The  printed  map  shown  after  pagre  176,  issued  to  the  officers  by  headquarters 
staif  must  not  be  carried  into  the  trenches,  so  sketches  are  made  as  above. 
When  an  officer  is  wounded  or  in  dang-er  of  capture,  his  first  thought  is  of 
the  map— he  chews  it  up  and  swallows  it. 


PREPARING  FOR  GREAT  OFFENSIVE  175 

numbers  of  these  prints  and  check  up  the  various 
lines.  By  this  method  every  piece  of  new  work 
accomphshed  anywhere  in  the  enemy  lines  was 
added  to  the  map  with  full  detail;  and  as  new 
maps  could  not  be  printed  for  distribution  every 
day,  I  made  small  sketches,  showing  all  changes 
and  additions,  and  these  were  immediately  mime- 
ographed and  sent  out  to  all  who  had  maps  (a 
record  is  kept  of  the  distribution  of  all  maps). 
By  this  means  they  could  record  the  alterations 
and  keep  the  maps  corrected  to  date.  Occasion- 
ally, when  the  additions  had  been  of  sufficient 
importance,  the  maps  were  reprinted  and  given 
to  all  who  were  interested  in  the  particular  part 
of  the  line. 


CHAPTER  IX 

Hell  Let  Loose 

On  June  the  20th  we  left  La  IST e  and  the 

kind  people  turned  out  to  wish  us  ''Bon  chance!' 
They  knew  we  were  to  he  in  the  fight  very  soon, 
and  that  in  ail  probability  the  Battalion  would 
not  again  return  to  the  village  that  had  been  its 

favourite  billet.    Our  next  stop  was  at  V e, 

which  we  found  crowded  to  its  extreme  limit  with 
men,  and  consequently  very  uncomfortable.  The 
poor  Town  Major  was  at  his  wits'  end  to  find 
accommodation  for  us.  Every  village  in  the  area 
was  in  the  same  condition  owing  to  the  necessity 
of  concentrating  the  vast  number  of  troops  need- 
ed for  the  "Show." 

On  the  morning  of  the  24th  the  great  prelimin- 
ary bombardment  commenced.  The  greatest 
concentration  of  gun  fire  ever  indulged  in  by  the 
British  up  to  that  time.  At  last  the  Boche  was 
to  learn  our  strength  and  the  learning  must  have 
been  a  decidedly  painful  experience.  Every- 
where, for  miles  back  of  our  front  line,  guns  of 

176 


HELL  LET  LOOSE  ITT 

all  sizes  were  belching  death- dealing  missiles  with 
tireless  energy.  Ammunition  was  practically 
unlimited,  and  it  was  our  intention  to  destroy 
completely  every  part  of  the  German  trenches, 
cut  all  their  masses  of  barbed  wire,  and  level  every 
building  in  the  village  strongholds.  Nothing  was 
to  be  left  standing  or  intact.  Complete  annihi- 
lation and  only  that  would  satisfy  us. 

But  we  did  not  know  how  deep  were  the  Ger- 
man dugouts,  nor  did  we  fully  understand  their 
plan  of  defence,  which  included  the  safeguarding 
in  these  dugouts  of  innumerable  machine  guns, 
the  instrument  most  dreaded  by  the  infantry. 
From  these  by  many  ingenious  devices  the  guns 
would  be  quickly  brought  up  to  the  surface  of 
the  ground  as  soon  as  our  guns  raised  their  fire, 
in  order  that  the  infantry  might  go  forward. 
We  were  soon  to  learn  a  great  and  important 
lesson,  but  at  the  cost  of  much  good  blood. 

In  the  meantime  our  guns  continued  the  good 
work  to  the  intense  satisfaction  of  Thomas  Atkins 
&  Co.  Whenever  the  men  had  an  hour  to  spare 
they  would  make  for  the  nearest  vantage  point 
and  watch  the  endless  explosions  as  our  shells 
landed  along  the  enemy  lines  and  threw  up  col- 
umns of  smoke  and  earth  to  unbelievable  heights. 

Overhead  our    aeroplanes  darted  about  like 


178         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

huge  dragon-flies,  patrolling  the  sky  and  keeping 
the  enemy  planes  so  far  back  of  their  own  lines 
that  for  them  no  observing  of  our  guns  was  pos- 
sible. In  this  particular  region  we  had  abso- 
lute supremacy  in  the  air. 

Toward  evening  of  this  first  day  every  officer 
and  man  not  actually  on  duty  was  watching  the 
"Show."  By  daylight  it  was  wonderful,  the 
bursting  shells  causing  many  shaped  and  many 
coloured  columns  to  cut  into  the  sky-line,  but  at 
night  it  was  a  far  more  impressive  sight.  The 
whole  country  before  us  as  far  as  the  eye  could 
see  was  apparently  on  fire,  dark  clouds  hanging 
low  in  the  sky  reflected  the  deep  red  and  orange 
of  the  endless  shells,  while  the  cold  blue-white 
Verey  lights  trailed  in  gi^aceful  curves  through 
the  violated  sky.  Here  and  there  signals  of  green 
and  red  rockets  gave  variety  to  the  scene  and 
caused  satisfaction  to  our  fellows,  for  it  showed 
that  Mr.  Hun  was  in  trouble. 

Once  in  a  while  there  would  be  a  terrific  explo- 
sion which  dwarfed  the  noise  and  glare  of  all  the 
bursting  shells  and  we  knew  that  an  ammunition 
dump  had  been  hit  and  again  there  would  be  sat- 
isfaction among  our  men  for  it  meant  there  would 
be  that  much  less  ammunition  for  the  Hun  to 
give  us. 


X  A 


62DN.E.  62CNW. 


X  B 


PART    OF    ACTUAL    MAP    USED    DURING    THE    BATTLE    OF    THE 

SOMME 

The  light  pencil  mark  from  A    indicates  the  line  of  attack  made 

by   the   Brigade   to   which   the   author   belonged.      B,   point   from 

which    panoramic    sketch    was    made.      The    finished    panoramic 

drawing  was  made  as  if  drawn  from  A. 


HELL  LET  LOOSE  179 

Occasionally  the  firing  would  partly,  or  en- 
tirely subside,  and  perhaps  for  half  an  hour  or 
so  scarcely  a  shot  would  be  fired.  Then  suddenly 
hell  would  be  let  loose,  for  every  gun  as  though 
actuated  by  one  invisible  hand,  would  spit  forth 
its  deadly  shot,  and  the  air  would  vibrate  with  the 
roar  as  of  ten  thousand  peals  of  thunder,  again 
would  the  enemy  lines  be  lighted  up  with  the 
golden  glow  of  battle,  and  again  would  Thomas 
Atkins  smile  and  make  jests,  which,  though  not 
always  conspicuous  for  their  refinement,  were 
invariably  funny. 

This  ubiquitous  humour  is  wonderful.  IN'o 
matter  what  happens,  especially  if  it  is  something 
which  causes  him  or  his  comrades  great  personal 
discomfort,  he  always  manages  to  find  an  amus- 
ing remark.  While  a  really  good  explosion  in 
the  enemy  country  calls  for  an  avalanche  of  wit 
which  to  be  thoroughly  appreciated  must  be 
heard  under  the  proper  conditions. 

The  bombardment  continued  day  and  night 
with  more  or  less  regularity.  The  spells  of  quiet 
were  almost  invariably  followed  by  "intense" 
periods  and  we  could  not  help  wondering  how  the 
poor  devils  in  front  of  us  were  getting  along.  So 
far  as  could  be  seen  from  our  various  high  places, 
the  front  line  trenches  to  the  left  of  Fricourt  (the 


ISO         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

part  in  which  we  were  so  vitally  interested)  were 
completely  demolished.  Instead  of  the  even  line 
of  chalk  parapets  we  could  distinguish  endless 
craters  touching  each  other  in  a  way  which  spoke 
well  for  the  work  of  our  gunners.  Of  the  trenches 
further  back  little  or  nothing  was  discernible,  but 
from  the  numerous  bursts  of  shell  it  was  evident 
that  proper  attention  was  being  given  to  every- 
thing within  range. 

On  the  26th  we  were  told  that  a  big  gas  attack 
was  to  be  launched.  Our  men  had  with  great  la- 
bour carried  the  unwieldy  cylinders  up  to  the 
front  line  a  few  nights  ago,  and  naturally  enough 
they  were  as  anxious  as  we  were  to  see  tlie  at- 
tack. The  weather  was  perfect,  a  slight  and  fa- 
vourable wind  and  no  immediate  sign  of  rain. 
Shortly  before  the  appointed  hour  there  v/as  a 
furious  bombardment  lasting  several  minutes. 
This  was  intended  to  make  the  Germans  keep  out 
of  sight  so  that  they  would  not  see  the  gas,  then 
immediately  before  this  ended  the  gas  Vv^as  liber- 
ated along  various  parts  of  our  line.  The  poi- 
sonous yellowish  smoke  drifted  across  No  Man's 
Land  in  the  most  approved  way,  and  we  all  felt 
a  fiendish  delight  in  watching  it. 

The  dastardly  attack  on  the  wretched  Cana- 
dians and  others  at  Ypres  was  still  fresh  in  our 


HELL  LET  LOOSE  181 

minds,  and  now  the  nation  which,  in  violation  of 
all  international  law  and  against  all  traditions 
of  decency  in  warfare,  had  started  this  most 
damnable  form  of  fighting  ever  dreamed  of  was 
to  be  hoist  with  its  own  petard.  Its  ov/n  soldiers,; 
poor  creatures,  were  to  suffer  as  the  Canadians 
and  some  of  our  home  troops  had  suffered.  They 
were  to  die  in  agonies  as  those  Canadians  had 
died — agonies  such  as  no  man  has  ever  known, 
and  we  were  glad  that  the  British,  who  above  all 
things  like  to  fight  in  a  clean,  sportsman-like  way, 
had  taken  off  the  gloves  and  were  fighting  the 
devil  with  his  own  weapons. 

We  prayed  that  the  time  might  come  when  the 
brutal  Hun  would  curse  the  day  that  he  had  pol- 
luted the  earth  v/ith  this  vile  gas,  this  breath  of 
hell,  the  taint  of  which  will  rise  whenever  the 
ruthless  war  party  of  Germany  is  spoken  of.  It 
was  as  though  two  boxers  were  in  the  ring  and 
one,  finding  that  he  could  not  win  fairly,  threw 
vitriol  into  the  face  of  his  opponent  and  then 
downed  him  when  he  was  blinded  and  helpless. 
The  pick  of  the  German  soldiers  could  not  con- 
quer those  heroes  at  Ypres  by  fair  means  even 
though  they  were  vastly  superior  in  numbers 
and  in  artillery  equipment,  and  so,  in  cowardly 
determination  to  win  at  any  cost,  they  used  the 


182         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

gas  which  had  been  made  several  years  before  and 
kept  ready  for  just  such  an  emergency.  But 
God  was  with  us  and  the  heroic  resistance  offered 
by  our  suffering  men  must  stand  forever  as  a 
monument  to  them,  while  a  monument  of  quite  a 
different  kind  will  stand  for  the  fiendish  brutal- 
ity of  Germany. 

Such  were  the  thoughts  which  ran  through  our 
minds  as  in  silence  we  watched  those  slowly  mov- 
ing death-dealing  clouds  that  poisoned  the  very 
ground  they  crossed.  Had  any  one  told  us  two 
years  before  that  we,  who  called  ourselves  civi- 
lised people,  would  have  stood  still  and  actually 
taken  satisfaction  in  watching  our  men  fight  with 
such  means  we  would  have  refused  to  believe  it. 

Do  not  think,  kind  reader  (if  you  are  one  who 
has  not  been  in  the  fight) ,  that  this  means  that  we 
are  becoming  brutalised,  not  at  all.  No  man  is 
more  human  or  humane  than  our  fellows  at  the 
front.  The  stories  of  their  unselfish  kindness  and 
sympathy  would  fill  volumes,  but  this  is  a  war  for 
our  existence,  and  for  the  existence  of  all  we  hold 
most  dear,  freedom  in  its  greatest  sense,  with  the 
right  for  all  to  live  decently,  whether  they  be 
strong  or  weak,  and  against  those  who  threaten 
our  right  we  must  fight  with  whatever  weapons 
they  choose.    We  accepted  their  choice  of  wea- 


HELL  LET  LOOSE  183 

pons  when  the  duel  started.  It  was  to  be  guns, 
and  they  had  the  greater  ones,  and  their  numbers 
were  incalculably  greater.  Yet  we  accepted. 
Then  they  decided  to  fight  with  gas,  yes,  and  li- 
quid fire,  and  every  horror  known  to  science,  and 
we  too  have  called  in  our  scientists,  and  we  too 
will  use  gas  and  every  other  form  of  horror.  This 
has  been  asked  for  by  Germany  and  she  shall 
have  all  she  gives  and  the  measure  shall  be  filled 
and  pressed  down,  and  it  shall  overflow.  We 
shall  compete  with  the  Germans  in  all  things 
'save  one,  the  committing  of  atrocities,  in  that  she 
may  reign  supreme,  but  in  everything  else  she 
must  take  second  place. 

The  gas  attack  we  were  watching  on  this  beau- 
tiful day  of  June  lasted  less  than  half  an  hour,  so 
far  as  we  could  see,  but  for  those  unfortunate 
creatures  in  the  enemy  trenches  the  effects  were 
of  much  longer  duration.  They  probably  thought 
that  we  intended  to  launch  our  attack  as  soon  as 
the  gas  got  in  its  deadly  work  and  to  ward  it  off 
they  put  up  a  terrific  barrage  or  curtain  of  fire 
across  our  front  line,  thereby  wasting  a  lot  of 
ammunition,  but  it  gave  them  the  satisfaction  of 
imagining  that  they  had  succeeded  in  preventing 
our  attack. 

Owing  to  the  arrival  of  vast  numbers  of  cav- 


184         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

airy  the  Brigade  staff  together  with  one  Bat- 
tahon,  machine  gunners  and  sundry  other  parts 

of  our  unit  were  instructed  to  move  from  V e 

to  B e.    At  one  o'clock  we  were  to  leave  so 

the  men  were  given  dinner  before  starting.  In 
Brigade  H.  Q.  we  were  about  half-way  through 
our  lunch  when  the  familiar  whooooooo  of  a  shell 
interrupted  the  conversation.  The  beastly  thing 
seemed  to  be  coming  directly  for  us,  and  we  ex- 
pected to  see  it  land  on  the  table.  Suddenly 
there  was  a  terrific  explosion,  the  shell  had 
dropped  in  the  centre  of  a  courtyard  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  front  of  us.  Unfor- 
tunately a  number  of  our  men  were  in  this  yard 
having  their  meal.  The  scene  which  resulted 
was  indescribable,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  all,  the 
cries  of  the  mutilated  and  dying  men  were 
drowned  by  the  roars  of  another  and  still  an- 
other shell.  The  second  shot  accounted  for  a 
number  of  our  men  in  the  street  when  they  had 

assembled  to  move  to  B e.     The  third  one 

landed  in  a  garden  one  hundred  yards  from  our 
H.  Q.  where  it  killed  a  poor  little  girl  who  was 
playing  with  her  kitten. 

Belief  for  the  many  wounded  was  needed  im- 
mediately, but  the  doctors  and  all  their  staff  had 
left  for  B e,  so  there  was  a  delay,  as  unfortu- 


HELL  LET  LOOSE  185 

nate  as  it  was  unavoidable.  How  small  a  thing 
influences  lives,  only  by  the  merest  chance  had  it 
been  decided  that  we  should  not  leave  V e  un- 
til after  lunch.  According  to  the  original  plan 
vv^e  Yv^ere  to  have  gone  at  eleven  that  morning. 
Had  we  done  so  this  ghastly  misfortune  v/ould 
not  have  happened. 

That  evening  in  the  new  quarters  our  Brigade 
following  the  usual  custom  in  the  British  Army 
indulged  in  an  open-air  day-bef  ore-the-battle  con- 
cert which  was  thoroughly  well  attended.  Ex- 
cept for  a  few  seats  arranged  for  the  ofxicers  it 
was  a  case  of  "standing  room  only,"  not  alone  was 
every  inch  of  standing  room  in  the  square  court- 
yard taken,  but  the  surrounding  buildings  were 
occupied  inside  and  out,  that  is  to  say  windows 
and  roofs.  A  small  rough  stage  had  been  erected 
on  vv^hich  a  piano  was  placed.  This  instrument 
had  very  evidently  not  been  tuned  since  the  war 
began,  or  perhaps  since  the  war  of  1870.  Any- 
how it  was  not  in  tune.  However,  that  made  little 
difference.  Among  the  four  Battalions  there  was 
quite  a  fair  share  of  talent.  Some  of  it  was  pro- 
fessional, but  the  greater  part  was  amateur,  or 
very  much  amateur. 

The  poets  of  the  Brigade  had  been  very  busy, 
especially  the  wags,  and  as  this  was  an  extra 


186         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

special  night  there  was  considerable  license  al- 
lowed, with  the  result  that  any  of  our  officers 
who  were  possessed  of  peculiarities  had  them 
thoroughly  aired  to  the  great  amusement  of  all 
hands.  Xo  one  was  respected  from  the  Briga- 
dier down.  Som_e  of  the  songs  were  decidedly 
amusing,  at  times  even  witty.  Of  course  there 
was  a  sprinkling  of  the  mawkish  sentimental  stuff 
that  so  thoroughly  delights  some  of  our  people; 
the  "Don't  kick  your  mother  when  she's  down," 
and  "The  pore  girl  hadn't  got  no  friends"  type. 
There  were  topical  songs  on  the  Kaiser  and  his 
kind,  in  fact  no  subject  was  neglected  and  all 
were  sung  to  the  accompaniment  of  the  guns 
which  never  for  a  moment  ceased.  But  though 
we  all  laughed  a  great  deal,  to  many  of  us  there 
was  something  unspeakably  sad  about  the  whole 
performance.  It  was  almost  as  though  a  num-\ 
ber  of  men,  condemned  to  death,  were  giving  a 
minstrel  show  on  the  eve  of  their  execution. 

A  great  many  of  those  fine  jovial  fellows  who 
were  singing  funny  songs  or  laughing  so  vocifer- 
ously to-night  would  be  laying  stark  and  still 
within  a  very  few  hours,  and  as  each  one  would 
mount  the  rude  platform  and  do  his  part  in  the 
entertainment  I  found  myself  wondering  whether 
he  was  one  of  those  doomed  to  make  the  great  sac- 


HELL  LET  LOOSE  187 

riiice.  Yet  in  spite  of  the  conditions  it  was  a  jolly 
evening  and  one  could  not  help  admiring  the 
splendid  spirits  and  remarkable  behaviour  of  the 
men,  for  though  this  was  the  last  night  on  which 
any  liquor,  beer,  or  wine  would  be  bought  or  used, 
there  was  not  a  man  present  who  was  the  worse 
for  drink.  The  morrow  held  no  terror  for  them. 
The  Great  Push  was  to  be  the  greatest  adventure 
of  their  lives,  and  their  one  thought  w^as  that  at 
last  the  time  was  come  when  Vv e  were  to  know 
whether  our  civilians'  army  had  been  sufficiently 
trained  to  stand  successfully  against  Germany's 
professional  army,  and  judging  from  the  atti- 
tude of  our  men  they  felt  not  the  slightest  doubt 
as  to  the  outcome. 

Scarcely  had  the  concert  (so  called  for  lack  of 
a  better  name)  ended  than  to  our  disgust  a  gentle 
rain  commenced.  If  there  was  one  tliinq:  we 
needed  more  than  another  to  make  our  offensive 
a  success  it  was  fine  weather.  Rain,  apart  from 
the  frightful  personal  discomfort,  meant  a 
marked  decrease  in  the  efficiency  of  our  shells, 
and  added  enormous  difficulties  to  the  advance  of 
the  infantry  and  artillery.  The  ground  was  com- 
posed largely  of  chalk,  which  when  wet  became 
so  slippery  that  in  the  open,  and  still  more  so  in 
the  trenches,  a  man  heavily  laden  with  all  the 


188         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

paraphernalia  of  battle  could  make  headway  only 
with  the  greatest  difficulty.  So  we  dreaded  rain, 
but  our  dreading  it  seemed  to  make  no  difference, 
for  it  continued  all  that  night  and  most  of  the 
following  day.  The  attack  was  to  have  been  made 
early  in  the  morning  of  the  29th  and  already  part 
of  our  Brigade  had  gone  to  their  positions  in  the 
line  when  the  order  came  that  the  "Show"  was 
postponed  for  forty-eight  hours.  Any  one  would 
have  thought  from  the  attitude  of  the  men,  when 
this  bad  news  was  broken  to  them,  that  they  had 
been  told  their  leave  was  cancelled,  which  is  the 
worst  news  a  man  can  get  at  the  front.  Xever 
have  I  seen  men,  so  depressed  and  disap- 
pointed. Nothing  could  console  them,  not  even 
such  remarks  as  one  in  broad  Yorkshire  w^hich  I 
happened  to  overhear. 

"Don't  th'  care,  Tom,  thou's  got  coople  more 
days  to  live."  The  delay  though  unavoidable 
was  most  unfortunate  for  it  undoubtedly  knocked 
out  a  lot  of  the  enthusiasm  which  is  such  a  valu- 
able asset  in  an  attack.  However  it  could  not 
be  helped  and  we  spent  the  two  days  doing  noth- 
ing as  assiduously  as  possible,  but  in  spite  of  all 
our  efforts  the  hours  dragged  along  with  painful 
slowness. 


CHAPTER  X 

Battle  oe  the  Somme — The  Great  Day 

The  day  had  at  last  arrived  when  we  were  to 
move  forward,  yes,  really  forward,  when  we  were 
to  know  whether  the  months  of  preparation  and 
training  were  to  give  the  great  results  that  we  all 
hoped  for,  and  many  expected.  What  terrific 
activity  had  been  concentrated  daring  these 
months,  not  alone  in  the  field  armies  but  at  home 
and  abroad  where  the  gigantic  supplies  of  am- 
munition had  been  made.  From  the  mines  which 
produced  the  metals,  and  the  ships  which  had 
brought  the  supplies  to  England,  the  feverish  ac- 
tivity in  the  great  factories  which  had  been  turn- 
ing out  guns  of  all  sorts  and  sizes,  and  all  types 
of  shells,  from  those  required  for  the  little  field 
gun  to  the  monster  implements  of  destruction 
weighing  more  than  a  ton  apiece,  to  the  endless 
supplies  of  all  kinds  needed  in  such  vast  quanti- 
ties. 

Then  the  bringing  of  all  this  material  to 
France.    What  a  story  that  in  itself  would  make. 

189 


100         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

How  the  vessels  were  brought  through  the  sub- 
marine and  mine-mfested  seas  and  what  care- 
ful management  had  been  necessary.  It  had  in- 
deed been  a  period  of  elaborate  and  colossal  prep- 
aration such  as  the  world  has  never  known,  and 
now  we  were  to  make  use  of  all  this  great  thought 
and  labour.  We  were  to  launch  our  first  really 
big  attack  against  the  so-called  impregnable  po- 
sition of  the  Germans.  We  were  to  know  within 
a  few  hours  whether  or  not  our  new  armies  would 
prove  equal  to  the  task  of  beating  the  highly 
trained  soldiers  of  Germany.  That  we  should 
succeed  no  one  of  us  for  a  moment  ever  doubted. 
We  were  full  of  that  splendid  hope  and  trust 
which  coupled  with  the  wonderful  cheerful  spirits 
of  the  British  soldier,  be  he  of  the  old  thoroughly 
trained  lot  or  of  the  new  army,  which  makes  up 
in  enthusiasm  what  it  may  lack  in  training,  car- 
ries through  to  ultimate  victory  regardless  of  the 
difficulties  encountered. 

It  was  on  the  30th  day  of  June  that  we  moved, 
each  Battalion  leaving  its  billets  at  the  appointed 
minute  while  the  men  bid  good-bye  to  the  little 

village  of  B e,  the  little  village  where  we  had 

spent  so  many  jolly  days,  and  which  was  never 
again  to  be  seen  by  a  large  proportion  of  those 


THE  GREAT  DAY  191' 

cheerful  fellows  who  sang  and  cheered  as  they 
passed  along  the  white  dusty  street.  The  songs 
they  sang  as  they  marched  to  battle  were  not  of 
deeds  of  valour,  nor  were  they  of  battle  at  all, 
far  from  it — just  cheerful  ones  expressing  deep 
sentiment  and  feeling.  As  the  splendid  fellows 
vanished  into  distance  I  heard ; 

"Keep  the  home  fires  burning  while  your  hearts 

are  yearning 
Though  your  lads  are  far  away  they  dream  of 

home. 
There's  a  silver  lining  through  the  dark  cloud 

shining ; 
Turn  the  dark  clouds  inside  out  till  the  boys  come 

home." 

It  was  sung  as  a  message  of  comfort  and  hope 
and  was  the  very  spirit  of  the  men,  showing  how 
they  are  always  thinking  of  hom.e,  of  those  who 
are  waiting  and  watching  and  dreading  the  news 
which  the  next  few  hours  might  bring. 

It  was  my  duty  to  remain  with  the  Brigade 
Staff  which  would  of  course  be  the  last  to  leave. 
I  therefore  had  the  opportunity  to  watch  the  four 
Battalions  move  away,  and  bid  farewell,  and 
Godspeed,  to  as  good  a  lot  of  fellows  as  ever 
lived.  Fortunately  one  does  not  have  much  time 
for  thinking  under  such  conditions  for  there  is 


192         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

endless  work  to  be  done,  and  every  moment  is 
precious  so  the  day  passed  only  too  quickly. 

Toward  evening,  having  left  our  possessions  in 
the  care  of  those  who  must  remain  behind  we 
(the  Brigadier,  the  Staff  JSIajor,  the  Brigade 
bombing  and  signalling  officers  and  myself)  rode 
forward  to  within  a  mile  of  the  front  line.  Then 
we  dismounted,  sent  the  horses  back,  and  con- 
tinued on  foot  through  the  crowded  communica- 
tion trenches  toward  the  Brigade  dugout.  The 
noise  of  the  incessant  bombardment  was  simply 
appalling.  It  seemed  as  though  every  gun  in 
the  whole  country  was  firing  at  maximum  speed, 
and  the  late  evening  sky  was  a  great  glow  of  crim- 
son and  orange,  as  the  shells  burst  along  the 
enemy  lines.  The  scene  was  grandly  impressive 
for  it  showed  with  what  power  the  great  offensive 
was  being  undertaken.  The  long  dreary  months 
of  inactivity  had  ended.  The  dearth  of  guns  and 
shells,  which  for  nearly  two  years  had  been  a  con- 
tinued source  of  chagrin  and  mortification  to  us, 
was  now  a  thing  of  the  past.  Apparently  our 
supplies  of  all  the  material  necessary  for  the  con- 
duct of  a  great  modern  war  were  unlimited,  and 
it  put  heart  into  us  to  a  degree  that  can  scarcely 
be  comprehended  by  those  who  have  had  no  part 
in  the  actual  fighting. 


THE  GREAT  DAY  19S 

As  we  passed  groups  of  moving  or  resting 
men  it  was  a  pleasure  to  watch  their  faces.  A 
glorious  cheerfulness  was  reflected  in  every  coun- 
tenance. That  the  great  chance  of  death  within 
a  very  few  hours  was  certain  did  not  manifest 
itself  in  any  way,  and  well  might  the  casual  ob- 
server have  thought  from  the  endless  jokes  and 
laughter  that  these  splendid  men  were  a  lot  of 
boys  on  their  way  to  a  game,  rather  than  that 
they  were  going  into  what  was  destined  to  be  one 
of  the  biggest  battles  the  world  had  ever  known. 
It  made  one  proud  to  belong  to  a  race  which  can 
take  the  most  serious  side  of  life  with  such  mag- 
nificent spirit,  a  spirit  which  nothing  can  crush, 
and  which  temporary  defeat  makes  only  more 
evident  and  irresistible. 

The  long  walk  through  that  narrow  crowded 
trench  was  very  tedious,  but  eventually  we 
reached  the  Brigade  Headquarters  dugout, 
which  was  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  actual 
front-line  trench,  and  there  found  the  staif  of 
messengers  and  signallers,  telephonists,  etc.,  al- 
ready at  their  places.  The  dugout,  like  all  of 
ours,  was  a  roughly-made  temporary  affair,  so 
very  different  from  the  elaborate  structures  made 
by  the  Germans,  and  it  seemed  to  reflect  the  dif- 
ference in  the  point  of  view  of  the  two  sides.    We 


194         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

regarded  our  stay  on  the  Somme  line  as  of  tran- 
sient interest,  as  we  intended  to  move  forward  as 
soon  as  possible,  while  the  Germans  apparently 
built  their  complicated  and  wonderful  under- 
ground lines  for  an  indefinite  period  of  occupa- 
tion, in  fact  as  though  they  expected  to  remain  in 
them  for  the  rest  of  their  natural  lives,  as  indeed 
many  of  them  did. 

Needless  to  say  every  inch  of  trench  space  was 
occupied,  not  only  with  men,  but  with  supplies  of 
all  kinds,  such  as  ammunition,  bombs,  stretchers, 
picks,  shovels,  wire,  water,  and  the  hundred  and 
one  things  that  might  be  needed  when  we  moved 
forward.  Over  the  trenches  were  numerous  ar- 
tillery bridges  to  allow  the  guns  to  be  rushed 
forward  without  a  moment's  delay  after  the  in- 
fantry had  reached  the  German  lines,  scaling 
ladders  lined  every  trench  to  assist  the  men  in 
doing  the  "parapet  hop"  with  the  least  possible 
difficulty.  Everything  that  careful  thought  and 
foresight  could  provide  for  had  been  done.  As 
each  unit  arrived  it  took  up  its  position  according 
to  the  prearranged  plans.  There  was  seething 
activity,  but  no  confusion,  except  possibly  when 
an  enemy  shell  landed  in  a  crowded  area  and  sent 
a  group  of  wretched  men  to  eternity. 

In  the  Brigade  dugout  the  telephones  were 


SCALING    LADDERS     BEING     PUT    IN     POSITION    BEFORE 
AN    ATTACK 

So    that    the    men    can    easily    leave    the    trenches    and    do    the 
parapet  hop." 


THE  GREAT  DAY  195 

constantly  busy  reporting  all  that  was  going  on. 
Each  company  on  arrival  would,  of  course,  re- 
port to  the  Brigadier  and  by  two  a.  m.  every 
man  was  accounted  for,  and  we  had  to  wait  pa- 
tiently for  the  passing  of  the  few  hours  that  re- 
mained before  the  zero  minute  would  arrive.  All 
watches  were  carefully  synchronised  but  so  far 
as  we  were  concerned  the  zero  remained  a  mys- 
tery, kept  absolutely  secret  by  those  in  command. 

Dawn  came  slowly  over  that  rumbling  area. 
A  cool  clear  dawn,  lighted  by  a  sun  which  fought 
its  way  through  the  heavy  smoke-laden  atmos- 
phere. Between  the  angry  reports  of  exploding 
shells,  and  the  crackling  of  the  machine  guns, 
came  the  liquid  notes  of  the  larks,  singing  in  the 
sky,  as  unconcerned  as  though  they  had  always 
lived  in  the  midst  of  hurtling  shells.  In  the  woods 
back  of  Fricourt  the  voice  of  the  cuckoo  could 
be  heard,  and  it  seemed  strangely  out  of  place. 
One  always  associates  it  with  the  quiet  of  the 
country  and  here  it  was  mingling  its  sweet  notes 
with  the  ghastly  droon  of  the  passing  shells,  and 
the  terrific  explosions  which  shook  the  very  earth. 

Above  all,  our  aeroplanes  policed  the  sky 
watching  the  enemy's  lines  with  hawk-like  keen- 
ness. Throughout  the  trenches  there  was  a 
strange  ominous  quiet.     A  suppressed  excite- 


196         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

ment  pervaded  everywhere.  ]Men  spoke  in 
hushed  voices.  The  great  moment  must  soon 
come  when  they  were  to  prove  themselves  men. 
As  they  talked  they  smoked  incessantly.  At  no 
time  is  the  cigarette  more  blessed  than  during  the 
period  preceding  an  attack,  when  the  minutes 
move  so  slowly,  and  the  pulse  beats  with  undue 
speed. 

Higher  and  higher  rose  the  sun  that  memor- 
able first  day  of  July,  1916.  Its  warmth  was 
grateful  to  the  huddled  masses  of  waiting  men, 
for  under  keen  but  suppressed  excitement  one 
feels  a  queer  coldness  that  is  almost  painful — thef 
throat  becomes  parched  and  the  tongue  dry  and 
hard.  Word  was  finally  passed  along  that  7.30 
was  to  be  the  zero  minute,  and  with  this  knowl- 
edge there  was  a  sense  of  relief,  for  then  all  knew 
that  the  suspense  would  soon  end.  Hot  tea  was 
served  to  the  men  as  they  ate  their  breakfasts  and 
what  a  Godsend  that  tea  was.  Surely  no  army 
was  ever  taken  care  of  in  the  matter  of  food  as 
ours  has  been  in  France.  Seldom  if  ever  is  there 
any  hitch  in  the  arrangements  and  food  comes 
with  a  regularity,  and  of  a  quality,  that  is  a  con- 
stant source  of  surprise  and  wonder,  notwith- 
standing the  existing  conditions  which  so  often 
are  more  than  unfavourable. 


THE  GREAT  DAY  197 

Seven-fifteen  came  at  last  and  with  it  a  terrific 
intense  bombardment  of  the  enemy's  hnes.  The 
whole  horizon  was  a  great  cloud  of  bursting  shells. 
More  and  more  shells  tore  through  the  air,  and 
rained  death  and  destruction  on  the  wretched 
Germans,  and  we  could  not  but  feel  a  sense  of 
pity  for  the  poor  creatures  who  had  to  undergo 
such  a  devastating  fire.  It  must  have  been  hell- 
ish, and  they  had  been  having  this  with  only  slight 
intermission  for  eight  long  days. 

Just  before  the  minute  hand  pointed  to  the 
half  hour  the  bombardment  eased  up,  and  only 
the  barrage  fire  over  the  second  and  third  lines 
was  continued.  Then  at  the  exact  moment  our 
whole  line  from  Thiepval  to  near  Fay  (the 
French  having  the  part  on  our  right  southward 
from  Bray)  emerged  from  the  trenches,  and  No 
Man's  Land  over  which  for  nearly  two  years  no 
human  being  had  dared  to  venture,  except  under 
the  deceptive  darkness  of  night,  was  covered  with' 
wave  after  wave  of  thin  lines  of  khaki-clad  men 
marching  slowly  and  steadily  toward  the  Ger- 
man trenches. 

Heavens!  v/hat  a  picture  that  was.  What  a 
grand  picture  of  courage  and  discipline ! 

As  far  as  one  could  see,  on  either  side,  those 
lines  moved  with  a  deadly  precision,  facing  a 


198         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

withering  macliine  gun  fire  which  thinned  their 
ranks  at  an  appalhng  rate,  until  of  the  first  lines 
but  few  remained,  but  those,  God  bless  them, 
went  on  and  on.  Xo  hesitation,  no  faltering,  just 
a  grim  determination  to  go  forward  until  stopped 
by  bullet  or  shell,  for  nothing  else  could  halt  > 
them.  On  they  went  over  that  field  of  vivid  scar- 
let poppies,  whose  colour  seemed  to  stand  as  a 
symbol  of  the  fine  red  blood  that  was  being  shed 
so  lavishly  for  the  salvation  of  the  world,  while 
the  sky-blue  cornflowers,  and  the  gleaming  white 
of  the  chalk-lined  trenches,  together  with  the  red 
poppies,  gave  the  red,  white  and  blue,  the  national 
colours  of  the  British  and  French  who  were  fight- 
ing side  by  side  for  the  greatest  cause  the  world 
has  ever  known  (and  joined  nov,^  by  the  Amer- 
icans whose  colours,  by  happy  augury,  are  the 
same). 

There  was  so  much  to  be  done  that  it  was  im- 
possible to  give  more  than  an  occasional  glance 
at  what  was  going  on,  but  apparently,  barring 
only  the  terrific  machine  gun  fire  which  played 
such  havoc  with  our  men  everything  was  going 
on  as  planned. 

Our  Brigade  was  on  the  left  of  Fricourt,  and 
the  two  Battalions  of  my  regiment,  the  King's 
Own  Yorkshire  Light  Infantry,  were  side  by  side 


THE  GREAT  DAY  199 

on  the  front  line  of  the  assault  while  the  Durhams 
and  East  Yorkshires  followed  in  support.  We 
were  unfortunately  unable  to  reach  our  more  ad- 
vanced objectives  owing  to  the  heavy  fire,  and  to 
our  great  number  of  casualties,  but  we  got  as  far 
as  the  sunken  road  within  an  hour  or  so.  This 
point  is  on  the  immediate  left  of  Fricourt,  which 
we  eventually  expected  to  surround.  The  de- 
fensive works  of  the  village  were  so  powerful  that 
it  was  not  considered  wise  to  take  it  by  assault, 
but  to  force  its  evacuation  by  threatening  to  cut 
off  the  garrison.  Along  most  of  the  total  line  of 
attack,  about  twenty  miles  all  told,  things  were 
going  well.  At  La  Boisselle  the  enemy  offered  a 
very  stiff  resistance  and  at  one  place  the  assault- 
ing troops  had  gone  rather  too  far,  and  had  omit- 
ted to  clear  the  first  and  second  line  trenches; 
this  unfortunately  resulted  in  very  troublesome 
conditions  a  little  later  that  day.  At  Thiepval 
our  line  was  unable  to  advance  against  the  steep 
hill  side  and  very  powerfully  fortified  positions, 
but  elsewhere  v/e  were  succeeding  splendidly  as 
was  shown  by  the  reports  which  were  continually 
coming  in  by  telephone  and  runners. 

At  about  nine  o'clock  our  Brigadier  decided  to 
go  forward  with  the  Brigade  Major  to  see  per- 
sonally how  we  were  doing,  as  we  had  lost  so 


200         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

heavily  in  officers  that  it  was  hard  to  get  reliable 
information  through  the  many  field  telephones 
which  had  been  carried  forward  and  whose  wires 
were  constantly  cut.  I  was  sent  with  certain  in- 
structions to  the  Headquarters'  Staif  and  told  to 
rejoin  th^  Brigadier  as  soon  as  possible.  He, 
however,  had  vanished  when  I  returned  some  ten 
minutes  later,  and  though  I  hunted  through  every 
trench  and  inquired  from  the  men  who  were  mov- 
ing forward,  and  the  wounded  who  were  return- 
ing, I  could  get  no  trace  of  him,  and  so,  after  half 
an  hour,  I  returned  to  the  dugout,  for  it  had  sud- 
denly occurred  to  me  that  by  some  oversight  no 
officer  had  been  left  in  charge  and  important  mes- 
sages might  be  coming  in  at  any  moment.  On 
my  way  back  I  had  to  leave  the  trench  as  it  was 
entirely  blocked  with  wounded  men  who  were  try- 
ing to  make  their  way  back  to  the  dressing  sta- 
tion. It  was  remarkable  how  cheerful  they  w^ere, 
smiling  and  joking  about  their  wounds,  in  the 
most  extraordinary  way,  and  nearly  all  of  them 
were  smoking. 

The  men  I  passed  were  of  many  different  regi- 
ments, a  ghastly,  bleeding,  battle-marked  lot. 
Some  of  my  own  fellows  would  recognise  me 
and  would  laughingly  ask  what  I  thought  of  the 
regiment,  how  it  had  behaved,  all  so  glad  to 


THE  GREAT  DAY  201 

have  actnally  started  the  Germans  on  their  back- 
ward path.  Some  would  give  the  sad  news  of  so- 
and-so's  death,  how  he  had  died  "grandly,"  as 
they  expressed  it.  We  had  had  a  little  reverse 
at  Loos  the  previous  year,  which,  through  no 
fault  of  the  men  or  officers,  had  given  the  whole 
division  a  slight  bad  mark.  The  men  had  al- 
ways deeply  felt  and  resented  this  and  one  chap 
who  passed  me  managed  to  smile,  in  spite  of 
several  ghastly  wounds,  as  he  said,  "Well,  sir,  I 
guess  they  won't  hold  Loos  up  against  us  now, 
will  they?"  It  was  rather  pathetic,  that  he  with 
all  that  suffering  should  have  so  keenly  at  heart 
the  honour  of  the  regiment,  and  it  shows  what  a 
wonderful  thing  is  the  regimental  esprit  de  corps. 
It  leads  men  on  to  doing  not  only  their  best,  but 
even  more  than  their  best. 

In  watching  that  gory  procession  it  struck  me 
Avhat  a  terrible  price  is  paid  for  the  success  of 
all  military  enterprises.  Here  was  this  line  of 
men,  who  little  more  than  an  hour  ago  were  nor- 
mal men  in  the  finest  of  health  and  strength,  and 
now  maimed,  and  with  every  degree  of  injury, 
they  painfully  made  their  way  back  to  the  human 
repair  department.  The  well  men  were  rapidly 
moving  eastward  in  countless  numbers,  going  for- 
ward to  the  assistance  of  their  comrades,  while 


202         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

the  injured  so  labouriously  dragged  their  way 
back,  two  human  streams,  the  sound  and  the  un- 
sound. Before  us,  all  energies  were  devoted  to 
destruction;  behind  us,  all  human  power  and 
skill  tried  to  repair  the  damage. 

It  was  a  severe  test  on  the  nen^es  of  the 
younger  and  less  experienced  men  who  were  go- 
ing forward,  for  was  not  this  returning  stream  a 
terrible  object  lesson  of  what  lay  before  them,, 
and  each  much  have  wondered,  perhaps  subcon- 
sciously, whether  or  not  he  would  have  the  good 
luck  to  be  able  to  form  a  link  in  the  endless  hu- 
man chain  of  walking  cases,  or  whether  he  would 
be  disabled  and  doomed  to  remain  out  on  the 
ground  to  await  the  kind  help  of  the  stretcher 
bearer;  perhaps  fortune  would  be  still  less  kind 
and  he  might  become  one  of  those  pathetic  khaki 
figures  that  would  never  again  move. 

Yet  there  was  no  evidence  that  any  one  suf- 
fered in  sjDirits  by  the  scenes.  Jokes  passed  be- 
tween the  wounded  and  the  well,  and  the  phrase 
was  constantly  heard,  "Oh,  you  lucky  beggar, 
you've  got  a  cushy  Blighty  (i.e.,  a  "soft"  wound 
which  will  take  you  to  Blighty,  the  Indian  word 
meaning  England  or  home)  or  "Cheero,  lad,  y're 
going  back  home,  give  'em  my  love  when  you  get 
there." 


THE  GREAT  DAY  WS 

Here  and  there  a  poor  chap  would  fall  ex- 
hausted, and  his  fellow-suiierers  would  try  to 
help  him  along,  or  place  him  gently  in  sl  con- 
venient recess  of  the  trench  to  await  the  arrival 
of  the  stretcher  bearers  who  were  already  over- 
burdened with  work.  No  one  seemed  in  the  least 
downhearted,  for  were  we  not  winning,  were  we 
not  already  safely  in  the  German  trenches,  the 
trenches  we  had  been  staring  at  by  day  and  by 
night  for  so  many  months,  the  trenches  from 
which  the  well-equipped  enemy  had  been  dealing 
out  a  regular  death  rate  to  our  fellows,  who 
through  lack  of  munitions  had  been  unable  to 
retaliate.  And  now  all  was  changed,  we  were 
to  become  the  upper  dogs,  and  the  Germans  were 
to  feel  our  fangs  biting  deeply,  and  still  more 
deeply,  until  their  life's  blood  would  be  let,  and 
they  would  cry  for  the  mercy  which  they  had  de- 
nied to  others. 

About  this  time  the  sight  of  the  first  batch  of 
prisoners  gave  a  great  sense  of  satisfaction.  Some 
thirty  or  forty  of  the  grey  figures  came  stream- 
ing across  No  Man's  Land  with  hands  held 
high,  and  all  equipment  removed.  Some  wore 
the  uncouth  steel  helmets,  some  caps,  while  many 
v/ere  bareheaded,  and  most  of  them  were  in  a 
pitiful  state  of  nervousness.     The  effect  of  the 


S04         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

long  artillery  bombardment  was  only  too  evi- 
dent, not  only  causing  shock  to  their  system,  but 
numbers  had  been  without  food  and  water  for 
many  hours,  the  heavy  shelling  had  made  it  im- 
possible to  bring  up  rations  to  the  more  isolated 
positions.  Altogether  I  felt  sorry  for  the 
wretched  fellows.  So  did  our  men  who  gave  free- 
ly of  their  slender  supplies  of  cigarettes  and  wa- 
ter to  those  who,  but  an  hour  or  two  earlier,  they 
had  been  trying  to  kill.  That  is  one  of  the  splen- 
did things  about  Tommy  Atkins.  He  bears  not 
the  slightest  resentment  against  his  erstwhile  foe. 
The  moment  he  surrenders  he  is  treated  with  the 
utmost  kindness,  and  never  once  have  I  heard 
any  disparaging  or  unkind  remarks  made,  as 
long  as  the  prisoners  behave  properly.  This  first 
lot  seemed  to  be  greatly  relieved  at  being  taken. 
For  them  the  war  was  over,  and  their  main  idea 
was  to  reach  as  rapidly  as  possible  a  place  where 
they  would  be  safe  from  shells. 

My  mind  was  painfully  busy  as  I  made  my 
way  over  the  shell-torn  and  body  strewn  ground 
between  the  trenches.  Machine  gun  bullets 
whistled  past  in  ceaseless  numbers  and  now  and 
then  a  screaming  shell  would  come  and  throw 
great  masses  of  earth,  sand  bags,  or  even  men 
into  the  air.    Yet  it  all  seemed  so  impersonal,  so 


THE  GREAT  DAY  205 

unreal,  that  one  would  not  take  any  particular 
notice  of  it,  it  was  as  though  it  was  meant  for 
some  other  fellow.  Now  and  then  a  momentary 
feeling  of  terrible,  appalling  fear  would  strike  one 
as  some  ghastly  incident  occurred  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity,  but  the  feeling  would  pass  as  quick- 
ly as  it  had  come,  and  a  keen  interest  in  the  great 
scene  would  take  its  place.  I  remember  feeling 
the  greatest  possible  desire  to  sit  down  and  make 
sketches  of  the  drama  which  was  being  enacted 
but  of  course  there  was  no  time,  every  minute 
being  precious,  and  I  hurried  on  to  the  dugout. 
On  arriving  there  I  found  calls  for  help.  Re- 
inforcements were  urgently  needed  at  this  or  that 
point,  and  these  calls  I  passed  on  to  the  divisional 
headquarters.  What  a  strange  scene  was  that  in 
the  murky  dugout.  By  the  flickering  yellow 
flames  of  a  few  candles,  the  tense  faces  of  the 
telephone  and  telegraph  operators  could  be  seen 
as  they  took  the  endless  messages  and  I  could 
not  help  thinking  of  an  exchange  in  any  of  the 
big  cities  where  the  hum  of  messages  never 
stopped,  but  there  the  activities  were  all  so  peace- 
ful, and  so  comparatively  unimportant,  while  here 
the  lives  of  men,  thousands  of  men,  hung  on  a 
single  message  getting  through  correctly,  when 


206         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

the  results  of  great  plans  trembled  in  the  balance 
of  a  few  throbs  of  the  wire. 

As  an  accompaniment  to  the  unseen  calls  was 
the  steady  booming  of  the  guns,  great  and  small, 
our  guns  and  those  of  the  enemy,  it  all  seemed 
like  a  gigantic  thunderstorm  of  endless  duration. 
'Now  and  then  a  sweating  messenger  would  crawl 
in  exhausted,  bringing  word  from  some  outlying 
company  whose  wires  had  all  been  broken.  Per- 
haps the  man  w^as  one  of  three  or  four  who  had 
started  with  duplicate  messages,  and  where  were 
the  others  ?  God  knows,  for  these  trusty  runners 
who  bring  word  across  the  open  shell-torn  area 
pay  a  heavy  price  for  their  splendid  w^ork.  Yet 
they  do  not  hesitate,  for  on  them  depends  the  wel- 
fare of  many  of  their  comrades. 

Shortly  before  noon  the  Brigadier  returned, 
and  I  immediately  placed  before  him  copies  of 
all  messages  received  and  sent.     Before  going 

through  them  he  told  me  that  poor  B ,  the 

Brigade  IMajor,  had  been  killed,  or  at  least  very 
badly  wounded  by  a  machine  gun.  They  had, 
it  appeared,  gone  forward  of  our  most  advanced 
line,  in  order  to  ascertain  what  w^as  holding  up 
our  advance,  when  suddenly  they  saw  the  Ger- 
mans rushing  up  to  a  corner  of  Shelter  Wood 
where  they  got  the  gun  into  action  with  such  un- 


DURING  .  THE    ADVANCE 

The   men   march   across   No   Man's   Land   at   slow   speed   so   that 
they  will  not  be  out  of  breath  when  they  reach  the  enemy  lines. 


WAVE    AFTER    WAVE    OF    INFANTRY    STREAMED    ACROSS    FROM 
OUR    TRENCHES 

Facing  undaunted  the  withering  machine   gun  fire  which  mowed 
them   down   but   did    not   stop    their   advance. 


THE  GREAT  DAY  g07 

fortunate  results.     It  was  a  terrible  blow,  for 

B was  one  of  the  finest  men  I  have  ever 

had  the  good  fortune  to  meet,  and  I  felt  as 
though  mxy  very  best  friend  had  been  killed. 
There  was  no  chance  of  rescuing  him  even  if  he 
were  still  alive  and  there  seemed  little  hope  of 
that.  Still  I  determined  to  bring  back  the  body 
if  a  possible  opportunity  occurred. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  Bad  Night  Among  the  Shells 

DuEiNG  the  afternoon  there  \^ere  endless 
things  requiring  attention.  Among  others  was 
the  moving  of  our  headquarters  to  a  wretched  lit- 
tle dugout  in  a  badly  battered  part  of  the  trench- 
es. Occasionally  during  the  remaining  hours  of 
daylight  I  had  to  visit  various  parts  of  what  that 
morning  had  been  our  front  line.  The  sights  that 
met  one's  eyes  were  not  pretty  and  need  not  be 
told  in  detail.  The  terrible  havoc  v/rought  by 
some  of  the  enemy  shells  v/here  the  men  had  as- 
sembled preparatory  to  going  over  the  top,  when 
whole  groups  of  men  had  been  annihilated  bej^ond 
identification,  was   ghastly  beyond  description. 

Here  and  there  I  came  upon  the  bodies  of  fel- 
lows of  my  own  lot  and  it  made  me  sick  to  see 
what  the  poor  old  Battalion  had  suffered. 

Still  there  was  a  gi^atification  in  looking  over 
the  great  events  of  the  day.  The  German  line^ 
which  had  been  selected  with  such  care,  and  forti- 
£ed  by  every  means  known  to  modern  military 

208 


A  BAD  NIGHT  AMONG  THE  SHELLS    209 

science,  so  that  it  was  deemed  impregnable,  had 
fallen.  In  less  than  an  hour  from  the  moment 
when  our  men  began  the  move,  we  had  occupied 
almost  the  entire  front  lines  to  a  depth  of  from 
one  to  half  a  dozen  lines  of  trenches,  over  a  front 
of  about  eighteen  miles.  The  impossible  had  been 
accomplished.  The  indomitable  German  troops 
had  been  beaten  by  our  new  armies,  and  the 
achievement  we  believed  marked  the  beginning 
of  Germany's  end  as  a  great  military  power. 
ISTever  again  were  we  to  yield  ground  to  our  in- 
solent self-satisfied  enemy.  Slowly  but  steadily 
would  we  push  forward.  Looking  back  at  it 
now,  it  is  a  great  satisfaction  to  realise  that  not 
a  gun  have  we  lost  since  we  began  tha-t  forward 
move  on  July  1st,  1916,*  and  the  day  will  stand 
for  all  time  as  marking  the  vindication  of  British 
and  French  armies  against  the  foolish  and  unde- 
served slurs  cast  on  them  by  the  Huns,  whose 
overbearing  conceit  has  been  doomed  to  such  com- 
plete downfall.  .  .  .  They  could  njot  win  when 
they  fought  us  with  overwhelming  superiority  of 
numbers  and  unlimited  supplies  of  guns  and  am- 
munition, how  then  could  they  hope  to  win  when 
we  became  more  evenly  matched!  We  had  not 
forgotten  the  days  when  the  famous  thin  khaki 

*  This  was  written  in  August,  1917. 


SIO         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

line,  without  reserves  or  big  guns,  stood  be- 
tvv'een  Calais  and  the  German  hordes.  In  over- 
whehning  numbers,  backed  by  massed  artillery, 
these  highly  trained  forces  of  the  Kaiser  at- 
tempted, again  and  again,  to  break  through  that 
line  of  immortals,  and  they  had  failed.  Never 
again  would  they  have  such  an  opportunity. 

Shortly  after  dark  the  Brigadier  told  Capt. 
Y and  me  to  go  over  into  the  newly  ac- 
quired line  and  gather  and  sort  out  any  odd 
batches  of  men,  stragglers  who  had  become  de- 
tached from  their  units.  Also  to  get  any  useful 
information  that  we  could  pick  up.  Just  before 
we  started,  three  officers  were  handed  over  to  our 
care,  with  instructions  that  they  were  to  be  de- 
livered to  certain  units.  Their  nam.es  we  did  not 
know,  and  in  the  dark  we  could  not  see  their 
faces.  They  were  indeed  strangers  to  us.  We 
told  them  to  follow  and  do  exactly  as  we  did, 
and  under  no  conditions  become  separated.  Mak- 
ing our  way  across  what  had  been  No  Man's 
Land  was  a  somewhat  unpleasant  task  as  the 
enemy  kept  up  a  constant  fire,  both  of  machine 
gun  and  artillery,  so  our  progress  was  necessarily 
slow. 

On  our  way  we  came  upon  one  particularly 
badly  wounded  man  lying  in  the  open  and  he 


A  BAD  NIGHT  AMONG  THE  SHELLS   Sll 

begged  to  be  put  in  a  nearby  trench  where  he 
would  be  comparatively  safe.    I  was  anxious  to 

oblige  the  poor  chap  but  Capt.  Y ,  w^ho  was 

senior  to  me,  declared  that  it  was  not  our  job 
and  that  we  must  move  forward.  Reluctantly  I 
left  the  fellow  and  we  continued  on  our  precarious 
w^ay,  eventually  arriving  at  the  battered  remains 
of  what  had  been  the  German  front  line  trench 
until  that  morning.  Here  we  discovered  that 
one  of  our  three  charges  had  vanished  and  of 
course  we  concluded  he  had  been  shot. 

Curiously  enough  seven  months  later  when  I 
rejoined  the  reserve  battalion  of  my  regiment  in 
the  North  of  England  I  found  that  my  room- 
mate was  that  very  officer.  He  described  to  me 
how  upset  he  had  been  at  the  incident  of  the 
wounded  man  being  left,  and  how  it  had  made 
him  realise  the  stern  demands  of  war  more  than 
any  other  episode  in  his  short  experience.  Then 
he  told  how  he  had  crouched  in  a  shell  hole  dur- 
ing one  of  the  many  strafes  and  had  been  unable 
to  find  us  when  he  emerged.  After  w^andering 
about  in  a  hopeless  way  he  had  become  mixed  up 
among  some  barbed  wire  and  been  shot  through 
the  lung.  It  was  a  curious  coincidence  that  we 
should  have  come  together  after  those  many 
months,  neither  having  kno\\Ti  the  other's  name. 


S12         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

That  night  of  wandering  among  the  shell-torn 
German  trenches,  where  all  semblance  to  the  orig- 
inal line  had  been  obliterated,  will  always  live 
in  my  mind  as  the  most  ghastly  night  of  my  life. 
The  night  was  inky  dark,  the  darkness  made  all 
the  more  overpowering  by  the  constant  flashes 
of  exploding  shells  and  the  cold  gleam  of  the 
somewhat  distant  Verey  lights.  The  gi'ound  was 
but  a  mass  of  jagged  craters  into  which  we  re- 
peatedly fell,  often  landing  in  the  midst  of  torn 
and  dismembered  human  bodies. 

Here  and  there  we  would  find  crouching  fig- 
ures, seemingly  asleep.  They  were  silent  when 
we  addressed  them,  and  when  we  emphasised  our 
remarks  by  a  push  they  rolled  over  stiff  and  cold, 
for  they  were  dead.  Sometimes  groups  of  living 
men  would  be  found,  and  these  were  sorted  out 
according  to  their  units,  but  frequently  a  shell 
would  come  and  their  numbers  would  be  sadly 
thinned.  The  whole  thing  was  ghastly  beyond  all 
description  and  we  were  both  glad  vvhen  finally 
we  had  completed  our  work  and  turned  our  faces 
toward  headquarters.  To  find  the  way  in  the 
darkness  was  no  easy  matter  for  we  had  been 
wandering  through  the  lab^^rinth  of  shell  craters 
for  several  hours  and  were  compelled  to  trust  to 
our  sense  of  direction  as  much  as  to  our  com- 


A  BAD  NIGHT  AMONG  THE  SHELLS   213 

passes.  However,  at  half-past  one  we  succeeded 
in  reaching  our  destination  much  to  our  own  and 
the  General's  relief,  for  he  had  begun  to  fear 
we  had  been  knocked  out. 

During  the  night  written  reports  had  come  in 
from  the  various  units  so  that  w^e  were  able  to 
get  a  good  idea  of  how  things  had  been  going; 
with  very  few  exceptions  everything  had  been 
carried  out  almost  according  to  plans,  but  we 
had  been  forced  to  pay  a  very  heavy  price.  My 
own  regiment  had  suffered  particularly  heavy 
losses,  especially  in  the  matter  of  officers.  Only 
one  of  the  number  that  had  gone  over  the  top 
that  morning  had  been  able  to  remain  on  duty, 
the  other  twenty-four  having  been  wounded  or 
killed,  but  fortunately  in  many  cases  the  wounds 
had  not  been  very  serious.  The  one  who  had  re- 
mained wdth  the  men  was  Capt.  S and  he 

had  stuck  it  out  all  day  in  spite  of  a  wound  in  the 
chest.  For  hours  he  had  held  on  to  a  most  pre- 
carious position,  not  surrendering  his  command 
until  nearly  midnight  when  he  had  been  relieved. 
About  2.39  a.m.  he  came  to  the  Brigade  Head- 
quarters to  report  and  he  was  then  in  a  terribly 
exhausted  condition.  With  my  pocket  outfit  I 
made  him  some  tea  to  which  a  little  rum  was  add- 


214*         WHEN  TPIE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

ed  and  he  has  since  told  me  that  was  the  best 
drink  he  has  ever  tasted. 

The  rest  of  that  night  was  devoted  to  various 
tasks  and  there  was  no  chance  for  sleep  or  rest. 
Supplies  and  reliefs  had  to  be  sent  up  and  reports 
made  out  and  wounded  men  taken  care  of  so 
that  when  morning  came  we  were  still  hard  at  it, 
and  a  tired  and  somewhat  dishevelled  lot  we  were, 
no  one  having  had  any  sleep  for  two  nights.  At 
six  o'clock  we  had  a  sort  of  breakfast,  and  then 
I  was  sent  out  to  see  how  the  water  supply  was 
holding  out.  On  my  way  through  the  lines  I  sud- 
denly saw  a  man  running  along  and  calling  out 
that  every  one  must  retire  at  once.  This  struck 
us  as  peculiar  for  retiring  did  not  appeal  to  any 
one  as  the  proper  or  correct  thing,  indeed  we  be- 
lieved that  advancing  was  far  more  in  order.  So 
the  man  was  taken  in  charge.  He  was  dressed  as 
a  private  of  the  medical  corps,  a  pale-faced  fel- 
low wearing  large  glasses  and  having  a  some- 
v/hat  peculiar  accent.  His  whole  manner  was 
so  suspicious  that  it  was  considered  advisable  to 
send  him  to  headquarters  in  custody  of  a  cor- 
poral. What  happened  to  him  can  only  be  con- 
jectured but  there  is  little  doubt  that  he  was  a 
German  who  with  great  pluck  was  trying  the  ruse 
to  force  om'  men  to  retreat.     Such  acts  are  not 


A  BAD  NIGHT  AMONG  THE  SHELLS   215 

rare  and  occasionally  they  succeed  though  more 
often  the  man  who  attempts  it  pays  with  his  life 
for  his  audacity. 

On  reaching  the  comparatively  safe  valley  on 

the  edge  of  Becourt  Wood  in  which  various  head- 
quarters were  situated  I  noticed  a  very  fine  look- 
ing sergeant  walking  a  short  distance  ahead  of 
me.  About  a  hundred  yards  av/ay  on  the  oppo- 
site side  of  the  valley  the  hillside  was  crowded  with 
big  guns.  These  were  firing  more  or  less  con- 
tinually so  that  as  the  shells  flew  over  our  heads 
the  noise  was  deafening.  Suddenly  the  big  ser- 
geant spun  round  and  fell.  I  rushed  up  to  see 
what  happened  and  found  him  stone  dead.  A 
piece  of  shell  band  having  broken  off  a  passing 
projectile  had  made  a  ghastly  v/ound  in  his  head. 
There  was  nothing  to  be  done,  so  I  continued 
on  my  way  and  discovered  that  our  shortage 
of  water  in  the  front  line  was  caused  by  a  burst 
pipe.  Arrangements  were  immediately  made  for 
its  repair,  but  in  the  meantime  water  was  sadly 
needed  so  a  party  was  organised  to  carry  it  up  in 
petrol  cans.  What  we  would  do  without  these 
useful  receptacles  is  hard  to  say  for  their  size 
and  shape  renders  them  of  the  utmost  value  as 
water  carriers  and  even  though  occasionally  they 
give  to  the  water  a  taste  of  petrol  the  men  put 


216         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

up  with  it  readily,  for  after  all  they  are  accus- 
tomed to  highly  flavoured  water  as  it  is  well  puri- 
fied with  chloride  of  lime.  One  flavour  more  or 
less  makes  little  difference  to  a  thirsty,  tired  man. 
It  was  nearly  noon  when  I  returned  to  head- 
quarters and  reported  the  water  supply  in  work- 
ing order.  Shortly  after  my  arrival  when  I  had 
stolen  a  few  minutes  for  a  shave  and  a  sort  of 
wash  some  food  arrived.  Among  the  rations  was 
a  delicious  ham  which  took  my  fancy  for  I  had 
not  had  any  real  food  since  the  beginning  of  the 
battle.  Our  dugout  was  so  small  that  eating  in 
it  was  out  of  the  question  so  the  ham  was  placed 
on  a  sandbag  on  the  side  of  the  trench;  taking  a 
knife  and  fork  from  my  haversack  I  was  about 
to  cut  a  nice  fat  slice,  but  at  the  moment  I  put 
the  fork  into  position  a  messenger  came  along  and 
with  due  politeness  I  stepped  back  against  the 
side  of  the  trench  which  was  very  narrow,  in  or- 
der to  give  him  room.  Scarcely  had  he  passed 
when  with  a  dull  sickening  screech  a  large  piece 
of  shell  casing  came  flying  down  and  struck  the 
sandbar  exactly  v  here  mv  left  wrist  would  have 
been  had  I  continued  the  ham  cutting  operation. 
Besides  taking  my  hand  off  it  would  undoubtedly 
have  destroyed  my  watch,  and  as  this  had  been 
given  to  me  by  my  wife  it  would  have  been  most 


A  BAD  NIGHT  AMONG  THE  SHELLS   217 

annoying,  while  to  have  lost  my  hand  while  carv- 
ing a  ham  would  not  have  been  very  glorious.  I 
doubt  even  if  I  could  even  have  had  the  satis- 
faction of  claiming  to  have  been  "wounded  in  ac- 
tion." For  a  souvenir  I  dug  the  piece  of  iron 
out  of  the  sand  bag,  it  having  gone  completely 
through  one  and  partly  through  the  second,  and 
then  I  cut  the  ham  which  proved  to  be  quite  as 
good  as  it  looked. 


CHAPTER  XII 

Captueed  Lines  and  Prisonees 

After  lunch  I  was  told  to  take  a  party  of  men 
with  rations  and  ammunition  to  be  distributed 
among  the  Battalions  of  our  Brigade  which  were 
holding  the  new  line.  Instead  of  going  across  the 
open  of  No  Man's  Land  which  was  being  fairly 
heavily  shelled  I  was  told  to  follow  a  certain  new 
sap  which  led  from  the  left  of  our  position  to  the 
conquered  trenches.  This  sounded  quite  easy, 
and  would  have  been  had  not  the  Germans  kept 
up  a  very  unwelcome  and  incessant  bombard- 
ment, many  of  the  shells  falling  along  that  par- 
ticular piece  of  trench.  Snipers  too  were  watch- 
ing every  shallow  part  of  our  trenches  so  that  the 
greatest  caution  was  necessary. 

The  whole  ,line  v/as  blocked  with  dead  and 
wounded  in  ghastly  confusion  with  all  sorts  of 
debris  and  with  shattered  sand  bags  by  the  thou- 
sand. Through  this  mass  of  wreckage,  human 
and  material,  we  made  our  way  slowly  and  pain- 
fully.    Here  iind  there  I  would  test  a  particu- 

218 


CAPTURED  LINES  AND  PRISONERS    219 

larly  shallow  part  by  holding  up  a  ''tin  hat"  as 
though  a  man  were  moving  along  and  it  always 
brought  a  rattle  of  bullets  so  it  was  a  constant 
case  of  "low  bridge."  Eventually  we  reached  the 
sap  only  to  find  that  it  was  crowded  to  its  utmost 
capacity  with  wriggling  lines  of  men  coming  and 
going.  So  thickly  were  they  packed  that  over 
an  hour  passed  before  we  were  able  to  add  our 
number  to  this  sweating  mass.  No  sooner  had 
we  entered  than  I  met  the  Colonel  of  one  of  our 
Battalions.  He  was  lying  at  the  entrance  of  a 
shallow  dugout  badly  wounded,  having  been  shot 
the  previous  morning.  He  begged  me  to  get 
stretcher  bearers  for  him.  A  splendid  man  he 
was  and  I  would  have  given  anything  to  help  him 
but  under  the  conditions  I  could  not  leave  my 
party.  Ail  I  could  do  was  to  send  word  by  a 
passing  stretcher  bearer  who  was  heroically  try- 
ing to  carry  out  a  badly  wounded  man  on  his 
back.  He  was  almost  exhausted  but  promised 
to  do  his  best.  Later  the  Colonel  was  carried 
out  and  taken  to  England  where  I  regret  to  say 
he  died. 

Slov/ly,  very  slowly,  we  moved  forward  while 
the  shells  dropped  with  disgusting  persistence 
along  the  whole  line,  now  and  then  making  a  di- 
rect hit  and  causing  a  blockade  of  killed  and  in- 


220         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

jured.  It  was  impossible  to  do  more  than  give 
the  most  hasty  attention  to  the  wounded  and 
then  prop  them  against  the  broken  side  of  the 
trench  for  there  was  no  room  for  stretcher  bear- 
ers. Suddenly  in  the  midst  of  the  uproar  came 
the  call  "German  bombers  are  in  the  trench,  get 
back  as  fast  as  you  can."  There  was  no  word  as 
to  who  had  given  the  order  and  any  attempt  to 
go  back  would  have  been  disastrous  if  not  impos- 
sible. A  regular  panic  was  starting  for  the  men 
believed  themselves  caught  in  a  trap.  The  posi- 
tion demanded  rapid  action.  Telling  my  party 
to  stand  fast  behind  me  I  drew  my  revolver  and 
swore  I  would  shoot  the  first  man  that  moved 
toward  me.  It  was  a  ticklish  moment  as  the  men, 
unnerved,  and  tired  after  the  incessant  work  of 
the  past  two  days,  to  say  nothing  of  the  lack  of 
sleep,  were  not  in  condition  to  reason.  Still  the 
revolver  made  them  hesitate  long  enough  for  me 
to  ask  from  whom  the  order  came.  This  delay 
saved  the  situation  and  they  soon  realised  that 
no  one  knew  where  or  how  it  had  originated.  I 
noted  one  man  without  a  rifle.  To  be  unarmed 
while  in  the  front  line  is  a  crime,  so  I  called  out 
asking  v»^here  his  rifle  was.  He,  seeing  one  on  the 
ground  nearby,  declared  that  it  was  his  and  had 
been  pushed  out  of  his  hand  by  the  crowd.    He 


CAPTURED  LINES  AND  PRISONERS    ^9A 

quickly  picked  it  up  but  in  doing  so  accidentally 
put  his  finger  on  the  trigger  and  a  shot  whizzed 
past  my  head,  missing  me  by  a  few  inches.  Need- 
less to  say  I  was  thoroughly  frightened. 

Gradually  order  was  resumed  and  we  once 
more  moved  forward  very  slowly  and  finally  af- 
ter innumerable  delays  reached  the  old  German 
front  line.  Then  came  the  question  where  were 
we  to  find  our  Battalion.  For  an  hour  we  wan- 
dered about  through  the  most  thoroughly  dev- 
astated piece  of  ground  I  have  ever  seen.  ISTot  a 
semblance  of  any  trench  remained,  nothing  but 
an  endless  succession  of  craters  of  every  size;  as 
though  there  were  not  enough  still  more  v/ere 
constantly  being  made  by  the  Germans  who  Vv^ere 
shelling  the  region  with  great  persistence.  Vari- 
ous groups  of  men  told  us  just  where  our  lot 
were  to  be  found  but  all  the  information  proved 
valueless  and  simply  led  to  our  doing  a  lot  of 
hard  walking  and  climbing.  Finally  I  left  the 
men  to  rest  for  they  were  heavily  loaded  with 
supplies  and  taking  a  couple  of  INT.C.O.'s*  with 
me  w^ent  on  a  tour  of  investigation.  The  only  re- 
sult was  that  from  one  point  we  had  a  splendid 
view  of  the  storming  of  the  shattered  village  of 

*  Non-commissioned  officer,  i.  e.,  any  one  above  the  rank  of  private 
and  below  the  rank  of  Second  Lieutenant 


222         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

La  Boisselle.  This  was  of  the  greatest  interest 
for  we  could  see  how  well  our  men  did  their  work. 
Yet  to  see  how  the  lines  were  thinned  by  the  ter- 
rific machine-gun  fire  made  one  feel  utterly  sick. 

After  dodging  a  few  shells  and  nearly  getting 
lost  in  the  labyrinth  of  craters,  I  succeeded  in 
getting  back  to  my  party.  They  had  almost  de- 
cided to  start  off  on  their  own  account,  imagin- 
ing that  I  had  been  "scuppered"  (the  vernacu- 
lar for  killed)  for  I  had  been  gone  such  a  long 
time.  As  far  as  we  could  see  there  was  no  hope 
of  finding  the  remains  of  our  Battalions  to  which 
we  were  trying  to  bring  supplies.  Every  land- 
mark was  obliterated  by  the  long  continued  bom- 
bardment. 

The  German  system  of  trenches,  which  I  firmly 
believed  I  knew  thoroughly,  no  longer  existed,  in 
its  place  there  was  only  an  endless  array  of 
craters  of  all  sizes,  with  here  and  there  the  re- 
mains of  a  dugout  the  entrance  to  which  was 
in  most  cases  filled  with  mangled  bodies  torn 
beyond  belief.  Some  of  these  were  still  wearing 
gas  protecting  helmets,  showing  that  they  had 
been  caught  by  our  gas  attack  of  the  26th.  Noth- 
ing more  grotesque  or  horrible  can  be  imagined 
than  these  figures,  black  or  yellow  from  the  ef- 
fects of  different  poisonous  gases,  and  wearing 


CAPTURED  LINES  AND  PRISONERS    223 

the  masks.  The  protruding  retainers  hung  from 
their  mouths  and  gave  them  the  appearance  of 
some  hideous  animal. 

In  the  craters  were  numerous  bodies  exposed 
or  partly  buried,  both  Germans  and  our  own  men, 
showing  how  severe  the  fighting  had  been.  Sev- 
eral of  the  Germans  still  clutched  in  their  stiff 
cold  hands  rifles,  to  which  were  attached  the  saw- 
edged  bayonet,  and  on  the  teeth  of  some  of  these 
barbarous  weapons  was  the  proof  that  they  are 
used  for  other  purposes  than  the  cutting  of 
wood.  The  Boche  claims  that  they  belong  to 
the  pioneers  and  are  not  used  in  fighting,  but 
the  claim  bears  as  much  relation  to  truth  as  some 
of  his  other  statements  which  he  hoped  the  world 
would  swallow. 

While  we  were  trying  to  discover  the  where- 
abouts of  our  lost  units  the  enemy  began  a  very 
unpleasant  strafe.  Shell  after  shell  landed 
around  us  and  made  the  task  of  moving  about 
decidedly  risky,  I  might  even  say  dangerous.  It 
is  one  thing  to  have  to  cross  a  shelled  zone  and 
go  straight  from  one  point  to  another,  but  to 
wander  about  crawling  in  and  out  of  craters, 
being  sniped  wherever  you  exposed  your  anat- 
omy in  getting  out  of  one  crater  and  into  an- 
other, and  expecting  a  five-inch  or  larger  shell 


224         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

to  be  your  boon  companion  when  you  got  snugly 
into  the  crater,  while  you  know  the  men  you  are 
looking  for  are  carefully  hidden,  well,  it  is  not 
quite  as  nice  as  you  may  think,  in  fact  I  can 
honestly  say  that  I  was  frightened  and  the  inces- 
sant noise  of  bursting  shells  was  head-splitting. 
After  various  disagreeable  things  had  hap- 
pened, things  about  which  one  simply  cannot 
write,  I  decided  to  return  and  try  later  on  to 
get  the  supplies  delivered  under  the  cover  of 
night.  It  was  easy  enough  to  make  this  decision 
but  quite  another  thing  to  carry  it  out.  The 
communication  trench,  or  sap,  through  which  we 
had  come  was  being  shelled  more  vigorously 
than  ever,  and  if  possible  it  was  even  more 
crowded.  Unfortunately  it  was  the  only  avail- 
able cover;  to  have  gone  out  in  the  open  would 
have  been  neither  more  nor  less  than  suicide,  as 
the  Boches  still  held  the  opposite  slope  of  Sau- 
sage Valley  where  they  had  a  number  of  machine 
guns.  These  raked  every  inch  of  No  Man's 
Land  in  this  neighbourhood.  The  fact  that  they 
were  there  was  due  to  a  slight  mistake  that  had 
occurred  the  previous  day.  Steps  were  being 
taken,  in  the  form  of  a  large  bombing  party,  to 
stamp  out  the  hornets'  nest  that  night.  I  may 
add  that  it  succeeded  quite  thoroughly,  so  much 


CAPTURED  LINES  AND  PRISONERS    225 

SO  that  not  a  single  German  escaped.  Bombs  of 
the  Mill's  grenade  kind  form  exceedingly  con- 
vincing arguments. 

Eventually  we  managed  to  make  our  w^ay  back 
to  H.  Q.  dugout  and  I  reported  my  complete 
failui'e.  This  was  not  a  pleasant  task,  it  hurt  my 
pride  worse  than  anything  I  have  ever  done.  The 
Brigadier  was  extremely  nice  about  it  and  said 
he  fully  understood  the  difficulties.  Another  try 
was  to  be  made  that  evening  when  things  might 
be  more  quiet. 

There  was  very  good  news  from  most  parts 
of  the  line  that  night,  Fricourt,  the  much  dreaded 
strong  point  which  our  men  had  partly  sur- 
rounded, had  fallen,  the  Germans  having  been 
forced  to  abandon  it.  La  Boisselle  also  had  been 
taken,  and  Shelter  Vv'^ood  after  many  attempts 
was  at  last  in  our  hands. 

According  to  the  German  report  which  ap- 
peared later  they  were  retiring  "according  to 
plan."  This  was  perfectly  true,  but  in  the  offi- 
cial explanation  of  the  great  retreat  which  con- 
tinued for  weeks  they  quite  forgot  to  mention 
who  made  the  plan.    Need  I  add,  we  made  it  ? 

The  night  passed  fairly  quietly,  evidently  both 
the  Germans  and  our  men  were  tired  after  the 
two  severe  days,  and  beyond  intermittent  shelling 


226        WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

and  a  few  very  half-hearted  counter  attacks  there 
was  practically  no  offensive  activity.  Our  men 
spent  the  time  consolidating  our  newly  acquired 
lines  and  bringing  up  supplies  of  food  and  am- 
munition. 

One  day,  I  forget  which,  there  was  a  rather 
amusing  incident  connected  with  the  carrying  of 
ammunition.  Hand  grenades  were  badly  needed 
in  a  certain  part,  and  some  bright  fellow  thought 
it  would  be  a  splendid  plan  to  make  use  of  a  batch 
of  freshly  captured  German  prisoners.  So  he 
marched  them  down  to  a  forward  supply  dump 
and  loaded  them  up  with  canvas  buckets  full  of 
Mill's  grenades.  As  I  recall  it  there  Vv'^ere  about 
thirty  men,  accompanied  by  a  guard  of  four  of 
our  fellows  who  marched  them  across  No  Plan's 
Land  toward  our  new  line.  The  plan  was  a 
curious  one  and  would  have  succeeded  had  not 
some  senior  officer  discovered  it.  Tie  was  highly 
indignant.  The  employment  of  prisoners  for 
such  purpose  being  entirely  contrary  to  rules  and 
regulations.  Had  those  prisoners  possessed  a 
proper  amount  of  self-sacrificing  patriotism  they 
could  have  played  havoc,  armed  as  they  were 
with  some  forty  grenades  apiece.  That  they 
would  eventually  have  been  killed  it  is  needless 
to  say,  and  evidently  that  pleasant  prospect  was 


THE    GERMAN    FRONT    LINE    TRENCHES    NEAR    FkICOURT 

Showing  how  thoroughly  our  guns  had  destroyed  these  elaborate 
structures. 


CAPTURED  LINES  AND  PRISONERS    227 

in  their  minds,  for  a  more  docile  crew  I  have 
never  seen.  As  one  of  the  guards  said,  "Why 
bless  yer,  sir,  they'd  just  eat  out  of  yer  'and 
they're  so  bloomin'  glad  to  be  safe." 

They  were  a  tired  looking  outfit,  dirty  and  un- 
tidy and  many  were  in  a  terrible  nervous  condi- 
tion. They  declared  the  bombardment  to  which 
they  had  been  subjected  was  more  than  human 
beings  could  stand  and  as  already  stated  their 
water  supply  and  food  had  been  used  up,  and  it 
had  been  impossible  to  bring  up  fresh  supplies 
owing  to  the  incessant  shelling.  Occasionally  a 
couple  of  men  had  managed  to  make  their  way 
back  for  supplies,  but  in  most  cases  they  were 
knocked  out  either  going  or  coming,  very  rarely 
did  one  return.  One  of  the  men  spoke  English 
perfectly.  He  had  been  a  waiter  in  a  certain 
well-known  restaurant  in  London.  He  asked 
what  we  were  doing  over  there,  and  exhibited 
a  photograph  showing  London  completely  de- 
stroyed by  Zeppelins.  It  was  a  good  fake  and 
the  man  was  much  surprised  when  he  heard  that 
so  far  as  the  eye  could  see  London  had  in  no 
way  changed  since  his  departure.  The  Hun  has 
a  funny  way  of  keeping  up  the  national  enthu- 
siasm. He  quite  forgets  that  people  have  mem- 
ories, and  that  occasionally  they  do  reason  things 


228         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

out.  About  a  year  later,  that  is  in  1917,  after  one 
of  the  big  air  raids  over  London  the  people  were 
informed  that  the  metropolis  was  practically  de- 
stroyed. This  was  most  complimentary  to  us 
for  apparently  we  are  credited  with  being  able  to* 
build  with  unlieard-of  speed. 

For  fear  that  the  German  soldier  will  give 
himself  up  too  readily  they  are  told  frightful 
tales  about  what  we  do  to  prisoners.  We  are  sup- 
posed to  first  inflict  untold  tortures  on  them  with 
the  idea  of  eliciting  information  regarding  mili- 
tary matters,  and  then,  having  amused  ourselves 
in  this  way  we  put  them  to  death. 

These  are  among  the  many  pleasant  things  we 
do,  and  strange  to  say  the  wretched  creatures  in 
a  number  of  cases  believe  most  implicitly  that 
these  stories  are  true.  We  often  find  them  offer- 
ing bribes  to  our  men,  watches,  money  and  other 
things  if  only  their  lives  may  be  spared.  They 
appeal  to  our  men's  sympathy  by  shov/ing  photo- 
graphs of  their  wives  and  children,  explaining 
hov/  painful  it  will  be  for  them  if  they  never 
return. 

In  one  case  a  poor  shell-shocked  Boche,  one 
among  a  batch  that  was  being  led  by  a  some- 
what diminutive  cockney,  adorned  with  red  hair, 
a  freckled  face  and  a  snub  nose  which  pointed 


CAPTURED  LINES  AND  PRISONERS   229 

heavenward.  Not  at  all  the  hero  type  so  far  as 
appearance  goes.  The  Boche  after  offering  one 
by  one  all  his  valuables  and  receiving  each  time 
only  a  shake  of  the  head  and  the  remark  "Nothin' 
doin'  "  finally  handed  his  iron  cross  as  though 
certain  that  this  particular  individual  of  the 
Thomas  Atkins  family  could  not  resist  such  a 
tempting  bribe.  T.  A.  took  it  in  his  hand  and 
the  doleful  Boche  actually  allowed  a  smile  of 
sorts  to  crawl  over  his  gloomy  face,  but  the  smile 
died  a  sudden  death  when  the  little  cockney 
handed  back  the  cross  with  the  remark,  "  'Ere, 
take  it  back,  old  son,  yer  jolly  well  v/on  it,  didn't 
yer  ?"  This  flabbergasted  the  Teuton  who  thought 
the  brutal  British  had  doomed  him  to  certain 
death.  What  a  surprise  it  must  have  been  to 
him  and  to  all  the  others  when  they  found  how 
thoroughly  well  they  were  treated. 

People  laugh  at  us,  and  call  us  soft,  because 
we  err  on  the  side  of  oi;^r-kindness  to  our  pris- 
oners, regardless  of  the  terrible  provocation  we 
have  had  to  retaliate  on  them  for  the  brutal  way 
in  which  they  have  so  often  behaved  to  our  poor 
chaps,  but  in  the  end  our  actions  will  undoubtedly 
produce  greater  and  more  far-reaching  results. 
These  tens  of  thousands  that  we  have  captured 
wiU  spread  stories  when  they  are  released  which 


S30         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

will  help  vastly  in  making  us  better  understood 
throughout  the  whole  world. 

Our  men  greatly  prefer  to  fight  in  a  clean 
sportsman-like  way,  and  the  ill  treating  or  killing 
of  prisoners  ''spoils  the  fun  of  fighting,"  as  they 
say;  but  unfortunately  the  only  too  numerous 
examples  of  German  treachery  when  captured, 
have  forced  our  men  to  act  in  a  way  which  would 
never  be  necessary  if  we  were  fighting  an  honour- 
able foe. 

An  instance  which  occurred  to  our  men  on  the 
Somme  the  first  day  of  the  battle  will  give  an 
idea  of  what  we  are  contending  with.  It  hap- 
pened when  our  fellows  were  clearing  a  trench 
(this  means  seeing  that  every  dugout  and  hiding 
place  has  been  cleared  of  the  enemy).  They 
came  to  a  deep  dugout  and  called  down  the  stair- 
way for  surrender.  The  dugout  contained  some 
twenty  men  and  officers,  who  replied  that  they 
gave  themselves  up.  Our  Yorkshire  men  are  not 
fools  and  so  they  prepared  against  treachery,  two 
held  short-fuse  grenades  in  readiness,  while  the 
other  four  stood  by  with  rifles,  also  in  readiness. 

Up  came  the  Huns  carrying  no  weapons  and 
with  hands  held  up  in  the  required  position. 
About  eighteen  men  all  told  and  our  fellows, 
thinking  this  was  the  lot,  were  about  to  march  the 


CAPTURED  LINES  AND  PRISONERS    231 

batch  away,  when  suddenly  two  German  officers 
sprang  out  of  the  dugout  with  automatic  pistols. 
These  they  proceeded  to  use,  but  our  good  men 
were  equal  to  the  occasion  and  two  grenades 
quickly  dropped  among  the  treacherous  brutes 
and  then  two  more  to  make  sure,  with  the  result 
that  our  men  were  not  encumbered  with  any  pris- 
oners. 

Now  such  behaviour  on  the  part  of  the  Ger- 
mans is  bound  to  produce  very  disagreeable  ef- 
fects and  they  are  quite  certain  to  be  the  suffer- 
ers, but  certainly  they  have  no  one  but  them- 
selves to  blame.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  our  fel- 
lows decided  not  to  waste  much  time  when  they 
came  to  the  next  dugout.  Being  decent  meant 
taking  quite  unnecessary  risks,  and  when  a  risk 
is  unnecessary  a  soldier  is  not  justified  in  tak- 
ing it. 

I  could  not  help  remarking  on  hov*^  very  thor- 
oughly the  remaining  dugouts  were  cleared.  Peo- 
ple may  hold  up  their  hands  in  righteous  horror 
at  this  cold-blooded  performance  but  before  do- 
ing so  let  them  consider  what  their  feelings  would 
have  been  had  some  of  these  men  of  ours  been 
their  own  relations,  brothers,  fathers  or  hus- 
bands, and  remember  that  had  they  not  been 
both  clever  and  very  quick  every  one  would  have 


232         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

been  treacherously  killed.  It  is  bad  enough  to 
lose  ones  kith  and  kin  in  regular  fighting  when 
all  must  take  their  chance,  but  to  be  killed  by 
men,  brutes  perhaps  would  be  the  better  word, 
whose  lives  you  have  honourably  spared  is  quite 
different,  and  we  must  not  judge  our  men  harsh- 
ly if  they  do  occasionally  administer  punishment 
for  some  dastardly  deed  of  cowardly  treachery 
and  inliuman  cruelty.  When  they  do  have  the 
chance  to  fight  cleanly  and  fairly  they  do  so, 
thank  God. 

In  the  meantime  the  reader  having  kindly  par- 
doned this  digression  we  will  return  to  our  am- 
munition carrying  prisoners. 

The  supply  of  grenades  was  carefully  stored 
in  a  safe  place  to  await  the  arrival  of  a  fatigue 
(work)  party  and  the  batch  of  prisoners  once 
more  turned  their  backs  on  the  field  of  battle; 
each  step  took  them  further  from  the  chance  of 
being  killed  by  indiscriminate  shells  which  in- 
sisted on  falling  in  unexpected  and  quite  unnec- 
essary places.  Thoughtlessly  enough  the  men 
showed  their  feelings  of  relief.  They  smiled, 
and  that  was  foolish,  for  it  gave  a  brilliant  idea 
to  their  guarding  angel,  to  himself  he  said  "Pris- 
oners must  not  be  employed  in  carrying  ammuni- 
tion, that's  right  enough,  but  the  blighters  can 


CAPTURED  LINES  AND  PRISONERS    233 

be  put  to  the  very  useful  task  of  carrying  water 
for  the  poor  beggars  who  are  so  busy  in  the  front 
line,  good  idea  that's  what  they'll  do,"  and  they 
did,  and  no  one  got  into  a  row  about  it.  I  think 
it  is  quite  safe  to  say  that  no  water  ever  tasted 
sweeter  to  our  men  than  that  chlorinated,  pet- 
rolated,  warm  v/ater  carried  to  them  by  the 
Boche  prisoners.  As  one  fellow  remarked  as  he 
drank  "to  the  Kaiser's  'ealth  in  'ell,"  "It's  the 
nectar  of  the  gods." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

The  Toll  of  Battle 

During  the  morning  of  the  3rd  there  was  no 
special  work  for  me  to  do  for  an  hour  or  two  so 
I  employed  myself  searching  for  wounded  men, 
many  of  whom  had  been  laying  out  in  the  open 
for  over  two  days. 

During  any  big  "push"  there  is  bound  to  be 
this  unfortunate  delay  in  picking  up  the  wound- 
ed, it  is  unavoidable.  The  number  that  fall  is 
so  large  that  it  completely  overwhelms  the 
stretcher  bearers  who  work  to  the  very  limit  of 
their  power.  All  lightly  wounded  men  who  can 
possibly  manage  it  are  asked  to  make  their  way 
as  best  they  can  to  the  nearest  dressing  station, 
but  there  are  vast  numbers  who  cannot  walk, 
and  who  must  therefore  await  assistance.  These 
poor  fellows  have  a  way  of-  crawling  into  shell 
holes  for  safety  so  that  they  are  hidden,  and  it 
is  difficult  to  discover  them.  Then  also  if  badly 
injured  they  keep  so  quiet  that  they  are  easily 
mistaken  for  the  dead  with  which  in  this  great 

234 


^   &       #• 


,<#»* 


"^^•^ 


,^'^ 


A    BRITISH     TOMMY    LEADING    A    WOUNDED    HUN 
The  remarkable  kindness  shown  by  our  men  to  any  one  who  is 
wounded,  whether  he  is  a  friend  or  enemy,  is  a  constant  source 
01  surprise  to  all  who  see  it. 


THE  TOLL  OF  BATTLE  235 

battle  the  ground  was  strewn,  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  see.  Nearly  every  one  of  these  bodies  must 
be  examined  and  the  stretcher  bearers  were  so 
terribly  overworked  that  many  a  badly  wounded 
man  necessarily  must  be  passed  for  dead  during 
the  earlier  hurried  examinations. 

No  words  can  give  any  adequate  idea  of  the 
splendid  work  of  the  stretcher  bearer.  No  praise 
is  too  high  for  him.  He  has  none  of  the  excite- 
ment of  those  who  fight,  none  of  the  glory  of 
wresting  trenches  from  the  enemy.  His  is  the 
hard,  gruesome,  yet  wonderful  work  of  mercy. 
No  sooner  has  a  "show"  begun  than  he  is  needed, 
and  from  then  on  he  must  not  stop,  day  and 
night.  In  the  comparative  shelter  of  trenches 
or  in  the  shell- swept  open,  facing  danger  without 
a  thought  for  his  own  safety,  his  one  idea  is  to 
find  those  who  have  fallen,  and  by  some  method 
get  them  back  to  the  dressing  station. 

Often  it  is  impossible  to  move  the  wounded 
man,  then  the  stretcher  bearer  does  what  he  can 
to  dress  the  wound  and  make  the  sufferer  as 
comfortable  as  possible.  To  friend  and  foe  the 
same  treatment  is  given.  Once  a  man  is  down, 
his  nationality  makes  no  difference,  but  when 
possible  the  wise  and  careful  stretcher  bearer  re- 
moves any  weapons  from  within  the  reach  of  the 


236         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

wounded  German.  For  sad  experience  has 
taught  the  lesson  that  many  a  one  that  has  been 
wounded  after  having  been  bound  up  by  our 
fellows  has  returned  good  for  evil  by  shootmg 
his  benefactors  in  the  back. 

Those  who  have  never  seen  the  stretcher  bear- 
er at  work  can  have  no  idea  of  the  difficulties 
he  encounters.  Carrying  men  who  are  acting 
the  part  of  the  wounded  in  beautiful  symmetrical 
home-made  practice  trenches  appears  so  easy, 
but  to  carry  a  really  wounded  man  through  ir- 
regular shell  torn  trenches,  which  are  perhaps 
crowded  with  moving  troops  or  strewn  with 
wounded  and  dead,  is  a  task  that  calls  for  un- 
tiring strength  and  patience.  The  fact  that  a 
few  minutes'  delay  may  make  all  the  diiterence 
in  the  man's  chance  of  being  saved,  adds  a  nerv- 
ous strain  which  cannot  be  described. 

During  the  two  hours  I  had  to  spare  this  morn- 
ing there  was  a  good  opportunity  of  seeing  the 
wonderful  work  of  the  S.  Bs  and  as  I  did  what 
I  could  to  help,  my  admiration  became  greater 
.and  greater.  Some  of  the  sights  were  too  ghast- 
ly to  be  spoken  of,  but  one  thing  above  all  others 
which  impressed  itself  on  me  was  the  truly  heroic 
patience  and  pluck  of  the  wounded,  seldom  a 
groan,  never  a  complaint  and  usually  a  murmured 


THE  TOLL  OF  BATTLE  237 

word  of  thanks  for  any  help  they  received;  and 
people  dare  to  say  that  war  brutalises  men.  I 
thank  God  that  I  have  seen  what  men  can  be,  for 
I  have  never  known  it  in  peace  time,  and  I  say, 
iwithout  fear  of  contradiction  (and  I  do  not  count 
the  contradiction  of  the  stay-at-homes,  they  do 
not  know),  that  the  very  finest  that  is  in  a  man 
is  developed  out  there.  The  callous  gain  hearts, 
yes,  great  big  hearts.  The  soft-hearted  suffer. 
Lord  how  they  suffer,  but  their  suffering  be- 
comes unselfish.  They  swallow  their  own  ag- 
onies as  they  help  the  poor  mutilated  beings 
that  so  often  have  lost  all  resemblance  to  men. 
Perhaps  at  home  these  soft-hearted  super-sensi- 
tive men,  and  there  are  plenty  such,  would  be 
called  faint-hearted.  They  might  not  allow 
themselves  to  help  an  injured  creature  for  fear 
of  harrowing  their  own  delicate  feelings.  That 
selfishness  vanishes  out  there.  They  become  men. 
Is  that  brutalising?  No  indeed,  it  is  just  the  re- 
verse. One  becomes  accustomed  to  death,  for 
worse  luck  one  sees  so  much  of  it.  A  poor  dead 
body  is  not  a  thing  to  shudder  at  or  be  afraid  of, 
but  that  does  not  mean  that  we  become  callous. 
We  no  longer  look  on  death  as  such  a  terrible 
thing,  nor  on  our  puny  selves  as  being  so  ail-im- 
portant.   Our  sense  of  proportion  becomes  more 


238         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

true,  and  we  are  more  likely  to  see  ourselves  as 
we  really  are,  important  only  to  our  own  im- 
mediate friends  and  relations.  We  become  more 
humble  and  surely  that  is  good  for  us. 

Some  people  say  that  because  our  men  sing 
and  joke  while  on  their  way  to  that  scientific 
slaughter  ground,  the  modern  battlefield,  that 
they  have  no  religion,  that  they  are  materialists. 
They  do  not  know  the  hearts  of  these  men,  they 
have  not  seen  them  during  their  only  too  brief 
leisure  hours  in  the  days  before  the  battle  go 
quietly  into  the  little  churches  and  silently  offer 
up  their  simple  prayers.  Is  it  for  themselves  they 
pray?  I  doubt  it.  No,  it  is  for  those  at  home, 
for  wives  and  kiddies,  and  for  mothers  v/ho  are 
thinking  of  them  so  many  miles  away.  There  is 
more  real  religion  out  there  near  the  line  of  bat- 
tle than  is  ever  seen  at  home.  It  is  not  ostenta- 
tion, but  quiet,  deep  and  beautifully  sincere. 

Not  long  ago  I  met  a  young  man,  a  civilian, 
who  was  filled  with  the  desire  to  help  others  to  be 
better.  He  was  of  the  anaemic  type  in  both  body 
and  mind.  He  lacked  all  experience  in  the  great 
busy  world  that  is  doing  things,  and  had  never 
been  two  hundred  miles  from  home.  He  came  to 
me  and  asked  my  advice  about  an  idea  that  he 
had.    I  was  anxious  to  hear  what  his  idea  mJght 


THE  TOLL  OF  BATTLE  239 

be  for  the  complete  lack  of  expression  in  his  face 
made  me  think  that  an  idea  and  himself  could 
scarcely  be  related.  It  turned  out  that  he  wanted 
to  go  to  France  to  uplift  the  wicked  soldiers.  He 
was  quite  upset  when  I  pointed  out  that  those 
men  out  there  were  doing  far  more  than  he  was. 
That  they  were  following  Christ's  example  in 
offering  their  lives  for  the  good  of  others,  ready 
at  any  moment  to  make  the  Supreme  Sacrifice. 
That  generally  speaking  they  were  living  honest 
clean  lives,  on  the  average  far  better  than  civilians 
at  home,  and  finally,  that  if  he  wanted  to  do 
missionary  work  he  would  find  his  field  without 
going  to  France. 

Now  why  should  people  imagine  that  we  poor 
soldiers  are  so  much  worse  than  any  one  else? 
Why  should  all  sorts  of  laws  be  made  to  protect 
civilians  from  our  evil  influence  as  though  we 
were  moral  lepers  ?  We  are  even  denied  some  of 
the  privileges  accorded  to  the  slacker  who  stays 
at  home  and  grows  fat  on  his  ill-gotten  gains. 
We  are  actually  punished  because  we  are  shoul- 
dering the  burden  of  military  service.  This  is 
very  hard  for  us  to  understand.  For  when  we  see 
what  the  soldiers  do,  even  though  they  are  but 
temporary  soldiers,  who  have  given  up  civilian 
pursuits  to  "do  their  bit,"  one  cannot  help  feel- 


S40         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

ing  that  they  are  certainly  no  worse  than  those 
who  stay  at  home,  and  that  the  effect  of  the  war 
on  them  is  refining  rather  than  brutahsing.  They 
will  come  out  of  it  better  men  in  every  way, 
broader  minded  and  more  charitable  and  very 
much  more  sympathetic,  besides  having  learned 
a  great  many  things  which  will  be  of  the  utmost 
value  to  them  in  life. 

Details  of  what  happened  during  our  search 
for  the  wounded  cannot  be  given.  Sometimes 
the  scenes  were  only  too  painfully  pathetic  and 
again  they  were  sadly  amusing,  if  that  combina- 
tion can  be  imagined,  but  the  less  badly  injured 
would  often  make  such  absurdly  humorous  re- 
marks that  it  was  impossible  not  to  laugh.  One 
fellow  had  no  less  than  three  wounds — his  right 
shoulder,  his  left  hand,  and  his  thigh.  He  had 
managed  to  wriggle  into  a  shell  hole  for  safety 
he  said  as  he  was  "afraid  of  getting  hit";  but 
once  in  the  crater  he  could  not  get  out.  In  de- 
scribing his  predicament  he  said  that  never  be- 
fore had  he  realised  how  hard  it  was  to  roll  up 
hill.  But  that  is  not  what  bothered  him,  his 
trouble  was  that  he  could  not  get  at  his  "fags" 
(cigarettes).  They  were  in  his  pocket,  but  ow- 
ing to  the  hand  and  arm  being  injured  he  was 
unable  to  reach  them.    As  the  S.B.  was  binding 


THE  TOLL  OF  BATTLE  9A1 

his  wounds  preparatory  to  moving  him  he  re- 
marked in  most  approved  cockney  "Blime  me, 
old  chap,  but  if  I  ever  catches  that  bounder 
what  put  that  there  last  shot  into  m.y  left  'and, 
I'm  blowed  if  I  wouldn't  jest  knock  'is  bloomin' 
blitherin'  fice  (face)  in  so  that  'is  own  pot-beliied 
German  father  wouldn't  recognise  'is  lawful  horf- 
spring.      I    wouldn't    er    minded    t'other    two 

blarsted  pills,  but  me  fags  is  all  in  me pocket, 

four  packs  o'  blessed  Woodbines  what  me  com- 
pany hofficer  gave  me,  and  'ere  I  been  two  mortal 
dies  (days)  and  not  a  bloomin'  smoke.  Its  a 
bleedin'  shime  I  says,  come  on  'ere,  Mke  a  good 
chap,  and  put  two  in  me  mouth  to  make  up  for 
lost  time — that's  the  ticket,  Oh  Gawd  but  that's 
a  bit  of  orl  right  (as  the  cigarettes  were  put  in 
his  mouth  and  lighted)  'ere  'ave  one,  or  two. 
Th're  just  like  kids  and  beer  two's  better 'n  one 
any  toime.  Ah  'old  on  a  bit  there  ( as  they  lifted 
him  on  to  a  stretcher)  that  old  leg's  napoo  *  its 
got  ther  toothache  or  somethin',  jest  pick  her  up 
by  both  ends." 

But  the  pain  was  more  than  he  could  stand  in 
his  weakened  condition  and  he  went  off  in  a  dead 
faint.    The  cigarettes  were  taken  from  his  colour- 

*I.  e.,  no  good,  "nothing  doing" — derived  (more  or  less)  from  the 
French  II  n'y  en  a  plus. 


^42         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

less  lips,  "pinched  out,"  and  tucked  in  orthodox 
fashion  behind  his  ears,  ready  for  him  when  he 
regained  consciousness.  I  watched  the  poor  fel- 
low being  carried  off  and  marvelled  at  his  courage 
and  spirits,  not  even  a  word  of  complaint  at 
the  long  wait  before  help  had  come. 

Turning  in  the  opposite  direction  I  scanned 
the  many  motionless  khaki  figures  which  lay 
around  me  in  such  curious  positions ;  if  one  looked 
at  them  steadily  they  seemed  to  move,  and  sev- 
eral times  I  was  about  to  start  for  one  when  I 
realised  from  its  attitude  that  it  was  one  of  the 
Supreme  Sacrifices.  About  a  hundred  yards 
away  there  w^as  a  patch  of  glowing  scarlet  pop- 
pies. They  fascinated  me,  their  cheerful  colour 
in  the  field  of  death,  as  though  nature  laughed 
at  our  mourning.  As  I  stared  something  moved 
very  slightly,  so  slightly  indeed  that  I  thought  I 
must  be  mistaken  and  I  was  about  to  move  awav, 
but  an  unknown  power  seemed  to  lead  me  for- 
ward to  the  poppies  in  spite  of  myself,  and  I 
made  my  way  over  the  shell  torn,  body-strewn, 
ground.  On  arriving  I  found  a  badly  wounded 
man,  he  was  lying  in  the  poppy  patch  and  w^ith 
one  arm  extended  so  that  the  hand  was  out  in 
the  open.  What  I  had  seen  was  the  fingers  mov- 
ing, but  it  had  been  enough,  perhaps,  to  save  the 


THE  TOLL  OF  BATTLE  MS 

man's  life.  The  flowers  so  completely  surrounded 
him  that  very  likely  he  would  never  have  been 
found,  except  perhaps  by  the  burial  party. 

So  far  the  morning  had  been  fairly  quiet  in 
this  particular  neighbourhood,  very  few  shells 
having  fallen  in  our  immediate  vicinity,  though 
innumerable  machine  gun  bullets  sang  through 
the  air  overhead,  and  in  the  distance  toward 
Mametz  Wood  and  Contalmaison  there  was  the 
unceasing  pounding  of  the  big  guns.  Evidently 
the  Germans  were  disputing  every  yard  of  our 
advance,  but  our  men  were  pushing  forward  with 
splendid  determination.  It  was  gratifying  to 
learn  later  that  in  no  place  had  an  enemy  counter- 
attack been  successful  for  njore  than  a  short  time. 

As  I  was  about  to  return  to  H.Q.*  our  Ro- 
man Catholic  Padre  passed  me.  He  was  on  his 
way  to  where  the  greatest  number  of  our  men 
had  fallen  not  far  from  the  German  front  line 
of  three  days  ago.  Up  to  the  moment  there  had 
been  no  time  or  opportunity  for  burying  the 
dead,  nor  was  there  much  chance  that  it  would 
be  done  for  some  days  to  come,t  and  it  appeared 
that  our  Brigade  had  just  received  orders  to  move 
back  for  reorganisation.    Our  good  Padre  could 

*  Head  Quarters. 

f  It  was  actually  about  twelve  days  before  the  burying  began. 


StU         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

not  bear  to  think  that  a  strange  priest  would  read 
the  service  over  his  "boys"  as  he  called  them.  The 
boys  he  had  lived  with  for  over  two  years.  How 
often  he  had  scolded  them  for  their  little  failings, 
and  now  so  hiany  lay  before  him — their  ears  deaf 
to  the  human  voice,  their  great  strong  bodies  stiff, 
cold  and  inert.  He  had  loved  them  with  a  great 
devotion  and  many  a  one,  torn  and  bleeding,  had 
he  carried  off  the  field  on  his  powerful  shoulders 
utterly  regardless  of  the  passing  bullets.  He 
was  a  great  man,  admired  by  all  who  knew  him, 
whether  Catholic  or  not.  (I  regret  to  say  that 
some  months  later  he  was  badly  wounded  while 
carrying  a  message  under  terrific  fire,  a  task  that 
he  had  voluntarily  assumed.)  On  that  battle- 
field of  the  Somme  he  stood,  exposed  to  the  shells 
which  were  coming  in  increasing  number,  and 
there  silhouetted  against  the  sky-line,  I  saw  him 
read  the  burial  ser\ace  consigning  the  dead  to 
eternal  rest,  not  individually,  but  in  hundreds, 
yes  thousands.  It  v/as  impressive  in  its  simplicity 
and  it  touched  the  hearts  of  all  who  witnessed  it. 
On  returning  to  H.Q.  I  learned  that  we  were 

to  leave  at  eight  o'clock  and  go  to  D 1  where 

we  expected  to  entrain  for  a  place  far  back  from 
the  scene  of  the  great  conflict.  The  news  was 
welcome  for  we  were  tired  out,  a  long  rest  was 


THE  TOLL  OF  BATTLE  245 

needed  and  had  certainly  been  well-earned  by 
the  men. 

In  the  afternoon  I  asked  permission  to  go  for- 
ward to  see  if  I  could  find  poor  B 's   (the 

Brigade  Major)  body  and  rescue  if  possible  any 
of  his  belongings  to  send  home  to  his  family.  His 
servant,  who  like  every  one  else  had  been  devoted 
to  him,  was  completely  broken  down  by  the  loss, 
and  he  begged  permission  to  accompany  me.  He 
thought  that  between  us  we  might  bring  back  the 
body  and  have  it  properly  buried. 

After  some  little  trouble  we  succeeded  in  mak- 
ing our  way  across  the  ground  between  our  old 
line  and  the  sunken  road.  What  a  scene  of  deso- 
lation it  presented!  More  utter  and  complete 
destruction  could  not  be  imagined.  No  sign  of 
the  original  German  trenches  remained,  and  our 
men  were  busily  engaged  in  digging  new  lines  of 
communication  and  putting  up  barbed  wire  en- 
tanglements in  anticipation  of  the  inevitable 
counter-attacks.  Beyond  us  lay  Fricourt,  or 
more  properly  what  had  been  Fricourt,  for  it 
was  now  nothing  but  a  mass  of  smouldering  ruin ; 
not  a  wall  was  standing,  the  very  bricks  were 
broken  into  fragments.  Where  trees  had  stood, 
there  remained  only  the  torn  and  splintered 
stumps,  but  no  words  can  describe  the  complete- 


g46         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

ness  of  the  ruin.  The  sunken  road  along  which 
only  a  few  days  before  the  Germans  had  so  con- 
fidently driven  their  supply  carts  and  marched 
their  men,  was  now  more  of  shell-holes  than  road ; 
shattered  limbers,  waggons  and  guns,  distorted 
remains  of  horses  and  men,  were  strewn  in  end- 
less confusion,  while  our  men  crouched  into  hast- 
ily constructed  trenches  along  the  road  side  and 
dodged  the  cursed  shells.  The  enemy  knew  we 
should  be  using  this  road  and  he  made  us  pay 
heavy  toll.  As  we  walked  along,  between  the  ex- 
treme bursts  of  hate,  three  men  went  ahead  of 
us  laughing  and  joking  in  the  usual  way.  M 
single  shell  landed  on  the  road  just  ahead  of 
I  them.  Two  of  the  men  spun  round  like  tops 
and  then  fell  dead.  The  third  was  not  touched. 
*' Close  shave  that,"  he  remarked  as  we  passed 
him. 

'  On  the  left  side  of  the  road  there  were  two 
small  patches  of  woods  called  the  Dingle  and 
Round  Wood.  These,  before  the  big  bombard- 
ment, had  contained  trees,  but  now  scarcely  even 
stumps  remained,  so  thoroughly  had  they  been 
shelled.  Scattered  thickly  among  the  connect- 
ing shell  holes  were  great  numbers  of  bodies, 
both  German  and  British.  Among  the  dead 
were  some  wounded,  very  few,  because  the  con- 


THE  TOLL  OF  BATTLE  g^Ti 

stant  fire,  both  before  and  after  our  men  had 
captured  the  ground,  had  finished  off  nearly  all 
who  had  fallen.  During  the  advance  probably 
hundreds  of  our  fellows  had  crept  or  rushed  over 
this  piece  of  territory  in  trying  to  reach  the  com- 
parative shelter  afforded  by  the  eastern  bank 
of  the  Sunken  Road,  but  somewhere  in  Round 
Wood  lay  a  German  sniper,  a  man  of  great 
courage  and  persistence,  who  felt  it  his  particular 
duty  to  pick  off  any  man,  or  more  particularly, 
ofticer,  who  came  along  the  road. 

He  made  our  progress  most  uneven  and  diffi- 
cult. I  might  say  hazardous,  for  he  was  not 
much  over  a  hundred  yards  away  and  so  it  was 
easy  for  him  to  send  bullets  unpleasantly  close 
to  our  heads;  only  by  going  forward  by  bounds 
and  zig-zags  could  we  hope  to  avoid  hitting  those 
persistent  bullets.  Judging  from  the  somewhat 
erratic  shooting  of  our  friend  I  should  say  he 
was  wounded,  and  not  in  a  very  comfortable 
position,  at  least  not  in  position  really  favourable 
for  good  marksmanship,  but  still  I  could  not  help 
admiring  the  fellow's  pluck.  Evidently  he  had 
pretended  to  be  dead  when  our  men  were  any- 
where near  him,  and  then  when  opportunity  of- 
fered he  had  probably  shot  them  in  the  back.  To 
have  got  the  man  would  have  been  very  desirable. 


S48         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

but  to  distinguish  him  among  the  mass  of  figures 
would  be  by  no  means  an  easy  task.  Only  by  very 
careful  stalking,  which  would  require  a  lot 
of  time,  would  there  have  been  any  chance  of 
getting  him,  and  we  were  in  a  hurry;  already 
more  than  half  of  my  allotted  time  had  passed, 
so  we  hurried  forward,  dodging  trouble  until  at 
length  we  discovered  the  body  of  our  friend. 

Of  course  he  was  dead.  That  I  had  expected, 
but  he  had  been  stripped  of  everything  of  value, 
watch,  glasses  and  all.  This  was  a  sad  meeting 
of  the  living  and  the  dead  and  I  could  not  help 
thinking  of  the  idiotic  remarks  one  so  often  hears 
by  the  jealous  and  the  armchair  critics  regard- 
ing the  "Staff."  That  they  stick  in  safe  places 
and  do  nothing  but  make  mistakes,  and  never 
take  the  risks  they  arrange  for  others.  How  sick 
it  makes  one  to  hear  the  drivel  of  such  fools. 

Perhaps  we  in  our  Division  were  unusually 
fortunate  but  certainly  our  Staff  never  shirked 
any  job  because  it  was  dangerous,  on  the  con- 
trary they  might  invariably  be  found  in  the  places 
where  there  was  the  greatest  possible  danger. 
When  the  attack  began  where  was  the  Brigade 
Headquarters,  back  in  the  zone  of  safety?  Not 
much,  it  was  within  a  biscuit  throw  of  the  actual 
front  line  trench  and  the  Brigadier  did  not  hide 


THE  TOLL  OF  BATTLE  249 

in  a  safe  trench  and  get  reports  of  what  was 
going  on.  He  stood  on  the  top  of  the  parapet, 
and  saw  with  his  own  eyes  what  was  happening, 
taking  no  notice  whatever  of  the  hail  of  bullets 

that  passed  him,  and  here  was  poor  B ,  he  had 

gone  forward  of  any  of  our  positions,  and  given 
his  splendid  life,  doing  even  more  than  his  duty. 
We  could  not  carry  the  body  back,  to  have  done 
so  would  have  been  suicide,  but  I  enclosed  in  a 
bottle  where  it  would  be  safe  from  rain,  a  paper 
giving  his  rank,  name  and  unit,  with  the  instruc- 
tions that  his  grave  should  not  be  unmarked,  and 
so  we  left  him  and  made  our  way  back  to  H.Q. 
in  time  to  attend  to  various  duties  incidental  to 
our  departure. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

Rest — ^and  Return  to  the  "Show" 

At  eight  o'clock  we  left,  tired  through  and 
through  and  looking  forward  to  the  quiet  of  the 
land-of-no-gvms.  Through  lack  of  sleep  and 
the  continued  strain  my  nerves  were  in  a  very 
ragged  state.  This  led  me  to  do  something  for 
which  I  felt  most  deeply  ashamed.  As  we  walked 
over  the  open  shell-torn  ground,  occasional  bul- 
lets flew  past  us,  most  of  them  a  long  v/ay  off, 
but  one  came  perhaps  thirty  or  forty  feet  over 
my  head  and  I  ducked.  The  act  was  almost  un- 
conscious, and  no  one  knows  the  mortification  I 
experienced  when  the  Brigadier,  who  was  only  a 
few  yards  behind  me,  laughed  and  said,  "You're 
slow,  Dugmore;  that  bullet  had  passed  long  be- 
fore you  ducked."  I  wished  at  the  time  that 
another  bullet  would  come  and  bestow  on  me  the 
order  of  the  R.I.P. 
i     It  was  a  forlorn  looking  lot  that  made  their 

way  to  D 1.     Yet  though  battle  weary,  dirty 

and  footsore,  the  men  wore  an  air  of  keen  satis- 

250 


REST— AND  RETURN  TO  THE  "SHOW"     25l 

faction.  They  had  been  tried,  and  they  had  not 
been  found  wanting.  The  work  had  been  al- 
lotted, and  they  had  done  all  that  flesh  and 
blood  could  do,  and  now  before  them  was  rest, 
wonderful  rest  in  a  peaceful  part  of  the  country, 
miles  and  miles  from  the  front.  It  was  some- 
thing to  which  they  could  look  forward  with 
pleasure.  Occasionally  as  they  marched  they 
would  look  back,  and  seeing  the  ruddy  glow  of 
shell-fire  in  the  darkening  sky  they  made  pity- 
ing remarks  on  the  hard  luck  of  the  "poor  blight- 
ers" who  were  still  in  the  fight. 

Shortly  after  eleven  our  camping  site  was 
reached.  It  was  a  bare  open  field.  The  camp 
cookers  for  all  the  four  Battalions  were  lined  up 
ready  with  good  hot  food  for  all  hands,  delicious 
solid  food  and  steaming  hot  tea.  What  a  meal 
that  was!  and  the  supply  was  more  than  abun- 
dant, for  our  ranks  were  sadly  thinned.  Scarcely 
was  the  meal  eaten  than  great  drops  of  rain 
splashed  down  from  the  overcast  sky,  but  no 
one  cared.  The  men  were  fed,  and  they  did  not 
have  to  fight ;  what  more  could  they  ask?  Within 
a  few  minutes  the  ground  was  covered  with  lines 
of  men  rolled  in  their  waterproof  ground  sheets, 
sleeping  the  sleep  of  complete  exhaustion,  while 
the  rain  fell  in  torrents.     That  we  had  no  pil- 


252         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

lows  or  mattresses  or  tents  made  no  difference, 
all  that  was  wanted  was  the  chance  to  sleep  and 
forget.     Yes  above  all  Forget, 

At  four  o'clock  the  bugle  sounded,  and  men 
stretched  and  yawned,  and  cursed  the  disturbing 
call.  It  was  not  yet  daylight,  but  the  rain  had 
stopped,  and  it  did  not  seem  as  though  they  had 
been  asleep  more  than  a  few  minutes.  Some  of 
us  washed,  a  few  shaved,  and  all  had  breakfast. 
Then  came  the  long  wait  for  the  train.  It  w^as  due 
to  come  for  us  at  six,  but  not  until  nine  o'clock 
did  we  start.  The  long  time  had  been  spent  in 
trying  to  find  out  news  of  our  different  friends 
whose  faces  did  not  appear  in  the  lines,  but  most 
of  the  information  received  was  unreliable.  In 
the  excitement  and  confusion  of  a  big  advance 
very  little  is  seen,  and  very  much  is  imagined. 
Even  the  roll-call  did  not  give  a  very  accurate 
idea  of  our  losses  for  men  might  yet  turn  up. 
Many  become  separated  from  their  units  and  do 
not  turn  up  for  days  and  even  weeks.  All  that 
we  knew  for  certain  was  that  the  Brigade  had 
suffered  very  heavily,  how  heavily  we  scarcely 
dared  think. 

By  slow  stages  we  travelled  all  day,  the  train 
taking  us  to  within  a  few  miles  of  our  preliminary 
destination.    Here  we  were  to  tidy  up  and  await 


REST— AND  RETURN  TO  THE  "SHOW"     253 

the  General's  inspection.  There  was  no  more 
scouting  work  to  do  for  the  present  and  as  my 
old  Battalion  had  lost  nearly  all  of  its  officers, 
including  the  Colonel,  I  went  back  to  it  as  second 
in  command  until  it  was  settled  whether  our 
Major  was  to  be  given  command,  or  whether  a 
new  Colonel  would  be  appointed.  Needless  to 
say  we  were  anxious  to  get  our  men  in  shape  for 
the  General  who  was  due  on  the  6th,  so  all  our 
spare  time  was  devoted  to  cleaning  up. 

On  the  morning  of  the  6th  we  marched  to  a 
fine  old  country  place  which  was  loaned  for  the 
occasion.  The  grounds  at  first  glance  seemed  ab- 
surdly small,  and  I  was  beginning  to  wonder  how 
it  would  be  possible  to  arrange  the  four  Battal- 
ions when  the  sad  fact  dawned  on  me  that  we  no 
longer  required  a  large  space.  After  a  slight  de- 
lay we  adjusted  ourselves  to  the  new  conditions 
and  the  poor  old  Brigade  was  drawn  up.  How  it 
had  dwindled !  In  the  old  days  we  had  made  such 
a  fine  showing  with  our  four  thousand  men,  and 
now,  more  than  half  of  them  had  failed  to  re- 
spond when  their  names  were  called.  On  the 
General's  arrival  we  formed  into  a  square  and 
listened  to  the  words  of  thanks  for  what  had 
been  done.  I  had  often  heard  or  read  of  what  a 
first  inspection  after  a  battle  means  but  never 


254         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

had  I  realised  what  a  painful  experience  it  could 
be.  Men  swallowed  hard  and  avoided  each 
other's  eyes  for  many  of  the  eyes  were  moist. 

That  same  night  word  came  that  we  would 

move  the  following  morning  to  Le  M e  a  short 

day's  march  and  once  there  we  would  receive  our 
reinforcements  and  spend  a  month  or  six  weeks 
getting  into  shape.  This  sounded  delightful,  but 
like  most  cheerful  promises  it  did  not  come  true. 

On  arriving  at  our  new  quarters  we  were  de- 
lighted to  find  a  peaceful  little  country  hamlet  in 
the  midst  of  a  beautiful  country.  A  perfect 
place  in  which  to  recuperate.  The  billets  were 
quite  good,  and  we  settled  down  to  make  our- 
selves as  comfortable  as  possible,  and  amused 
ourselves  reading  accounts  of  the  Battle  of  the 
Somme   as   they   appeared  in   the   newspapers. 

Having  read  the  various  stories  we  came  to  the 
conclusion  quite  unanimously  that  we  had  not 
taken  part  in  the  "Show,"  had  not  even  been 
there — and  further  we  doubted  if  there  had  been 
anything  more  than  a  series  of  skirmishes,  just  a 
slight  variety  to  the  ordinary  daily  monotony  of 
trench  warfare.  Our  conceit  was  taken  out  of  us 
and  we  felt  exceedingly  humble. 

The  day  of  the  8th  was  given  up  to  rest  and 
getting   everything   arranged.      The   following 


REST— AND  RETURN  TO  THE  "SHOW"    255 

morning  there  was  to  be  an  inspection  of  kit  and 
drawing  of  whatever  was  necessary  to  make  up 
the  inevitable  deficiencies,  for  in  battle  much  is 
lost.  In  the  afternoon  we  were  notified  that  a 
new  Colonel  was  coming,  and  late  that  evening 
he  arrived.  This  meant  of  course  that  I  would 
no  longer  be  second  in  command,  so  much  to 
my  delight  it  was  arranged  that  I  should  take 
my  old  company  or  rather  what  was  left  of  it. 

Things  happen  quickly  out  in  France,  and  the 
next  afternoon  the  Colonel  announced  that  we 
were  to  return  to  the  front  the  following  morn- 
ing. The  order  was  in  the  form  of  a  letter,  the 
purport  of  which  was  that  as  the  Brigade  had 
done  so  splendidly  The  Higher  Command  felt 
that  it  was  only  due  to  it  (the  Brigade)  that  an- 
other opportunity  for  distinguishing  itself  should 
he  given  and  the  said  Higher  Command  felt  com- 
plete confidence  in  the  work  that  the  Brigade 
would  dOj  etc. J  etc.  This  we  had  to  read  out  to 
the  men.  It  caused  a  sad  and  cynical  smile  and  I 
fear  that  all  of  us  felt  somewhat  rebellious  and 
greatly  disappointed.  It  did  not  seem  fair  to  the 
men,  they  needed  a  rest,  and  then  we  had  lost  all 
our  sergeant-majors  and  most  of  our  sergeants 
the  entire  internal  organisation  had  to  be  read- 
justed.   We  had  scarcely  any  officers  and  they 


^56         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

were  mostly  new  fellows  who  had  no  experience 
at  the  front,  and  finally  we  were  below  half 
strength.  To  get  into  the  "Show"  under  such 
conditions  would  not  give  the  Brigade  half  a 
chance.  It  is  true  that  new  drafts  were  promised 
before  we  reached  the  front  line,  but  it  requires 
some  time  to  assimilate  new  men,  and  as  far  as 
we  could  see  the  time  could  not  be  given  to  us. 

On  the  morning  of  the  10th  we  left  our  rest 
billets  and  said  good-bye  somewhat  sadly  to  Le 
M — e.  A  good  half  day's  marching  brought  us 
to  A — s  where  v/e  were  to  take  the  train,  but 
something  had  gone  wrong  both  with  the  train 
and  the  rations  and  we  had  to  wait  till  late  that 
night.  The  only  food  v/as  what  we  bought  out 
of  our  own  pockets.  We  scoured  the  village  and 
had  to  perform  a  sort  of  barley  loaves  and  little 
fish  miracle,  but  the  fragments  left  would  not 
have  filled  many  baskets.  Scarcely  a  particle  of 
bread  or  chocolate  was  left  in  that  village.  We 
had  acted  like  the  locusts  of  Egypt,  but  unlike 
them  we  left  money  in  full  (very  full  I  should 
say)  payment.  Eventually  the  train  arrived  and 
took  us  to  V — e  our  old  stamping  ground.  The 
distance  was  only  a  few  miles,  but  many  hours, 
very  weary  hours,  were  occupied  in  the  journey. 

Soon  after  our  arrival  we  received  the  new 


REST— AND  RETURN  TO  THE  "SHOW"    257 

drafts.  Men  of  many  different  regiments,  some 
had  been  in  the  attack  of  July  1st,  others  were 
new  arrivals  who  had  not  seen  a  trench,  and  it 
was  a  merry  task  sorting  and  arranging  the  lot. 
In  fact  the  day  was  one  of  the  busiest  I  have  ever 
seen,  rolls  had  to  be  made  up,  gas  helmets  tested, 
kits  inspected,  deficiencies  made  good,  iron  ra- 
tions issued,*  new  N.C.O.s  appointed  and  a 
thousand  and  one  things  to  be  done.  Some  new 
officers  having  come  to  add  to  the  confusion,  they 
had  to  be  sized  up  and  allotted  to  companies.  It 
was  midnight  before  we  were  able  to  get  a  chance 
to  sleep  and  the  orders  were  that  we  should  pro- 
ceed to  Bottom  Wood,  beyond  Fricourt  the  fol- 
lowing morning. 

Any  old  soldier  would  have  been  amused  had 
he  seen  us  getting  ready  to  move.  The  battalion 
had  to  be  drawn  up  and  roughly  inspected,  and 
owing  to  the  restricted  area  it  was  necessary  to 
move  the  companies  about  more  or  less.  Being 
a  Light  Infantry  regiment  we  have  many  pecu- 
larities  as  to  drill  and  orders.  One  item  being 
that  the  men  are  not  called  to  attention  and  given 
the  ''slope  ^ums/'  preparatory  to  moving,  we  sim- 
ply say  "move  to  the  right  (or  left)  in  fours. 
Form  fours — right'*  and  oif  they  go,  springing 

*  Emergency  rations,  not  to  be  used  except  by  officer's  order* 


258         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

to  attention  automatically  as  the  first  part  of 
the  move  and  marching  off  at  the  "trail."  Fully 
half  of  our  new  men  knew  nothing  of  our  Light 
Infantry  idiosyncrasies,  and  were  completely  lost. 
The  idea  of  being  expected  to  move  without  being 
called  to  attention  or  given  the  "slope"  was  too 
much  for  them.  The  result  was  one  grand  and 
very  glorious  confusion,  for  which  no  one  was 
to  blame.  At  first  our  Colonel,  who  was  a  reg- 
ular from  a  Highland  Light  Infantry  regiment, 
and  a  splendid  fellow,  accustomed  to  having 
things  done  strictly  according  to  rules  and  regu- 
lations, gazed  v/ith  indignation  and  rapidly  rising 
temper  at  the  horrible  muddle.  A  word  whis- 
pered in  his  ear  at  the  critical  moment  explained 
the  situation  and  discipline  or  no  discipline  there 
was  a  suppressed  giggle  before  the  mongrel  Bat- 
talion finally  got  under  way  with  more  or  less 
uniformity  of  action. 

Our  march  to  Bottom  Wood  was  decidedly 
interesting  but  slow,  ov/ing  to  the  enormous 
amount  of  traffic  on  the  road.  There  are  few 
things  that  give  a  better  idea  of  the  magnitude 
of  modern  war  than  the  roid  traffic,  the  never 
ceasing  stream  of  moving  war  supplies.  For  the 
24)  hours  of  each  day,  the  seven  days  of  each  week 
it  goes  on  like  the  di^iving  belt  of  a  monster  ma- 


PART  OF  MAP  TAKEN  FROM  A  DEAD  GERMAN  OFFICER 
DURING  THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  SOMME. 


This 
may 


section  is  reproduced  so  that  the  difference  between  the  German  and  British  maps  [see  paye 
be  clearly  shown.     This  German  map  is  printed  entirely  in  black,  the  British  map  is  in  color. 


REST— AND  RETURN  TO  THE  "SHOW"  259 

chine, — the  belt  that  operates  this  colossal  in- 
strument of  war.  Needless  to  say  the  handling 
of  this  vast  mass  of  moving  material  requires  the 
most  perfect  organisation.  Not  only  must  the 
starting  of  each  item  be  regulated  with  absolute 
precision,  but  its  destination,  even  in  the  midst 
of  a  battle  where  the  elements  of  uncertainty  are 
so  great,  must  be  equally  well  planned.  And 
then  the  roads  themselves  which  are  subject  to  the 
terrific  wear  and  tear  as  well  as  the  destruction 
by  shells  must  be  maintained  in  perfect  condi- 
tion, repairs  being  made  with  the  least  possible 
delay.  To  insure  smooth  working  of  the  whole 
traffic  system  members  of  the  military  traffic 
squad  are  stationed  at  intervals  along  the  roads 
and  at  the  crossings  to  see  that  everything  shall 
move  according  to  plan. 

Passing  us  there  was  every  type  of  convey- 
ance, from  giant,  indomitable  caterpillar  tractors, 
to  hand  carts — carrying  every  imaginable  article 
used  in  this  modern  warfare,  from  huge  shells 
that  looked  big  enough  to  wipe  out  the  whole 
German  army,  to  bales  of  innocent  hay  for  the 
horses.  Sandwiched  in  between  these  various 
transports  were  units  of  every  branch  of  the  serv- 
ice, artillery,  cavalry  and  poor  weary  "foot  slog- 
gers"  as  we  infantry  are  called. 


260         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

This  great  endless  caravan,  carrying  forward 
its  unmeasurable  weight  of  man  and  material 
with  slow  resistless  power,  was  a  sight  to  inspire, 
and  it  gave  fresh  courage  and  hope  to  the  tired 
men.  Against  this  moving  mass,  returning  from 
the  land  of  shells  and  horrors,  were  the  "emp- 
ties" going  back  to  be  refilled,  for  the  maw  of  bat- 
tle is  never  satisfied,  never  filled ;  and  then  there 
were  the  endless  ambulances  bearing  in  their  cov- 
ered bodies  the  price  of  our  victories,  and  our  men 
looked  with  envy  on  the  pale  bandaged  figures 
who  were  bound  for  the  wonderful  hospitals 
where  all  that  human  kindness  can  do  is  done, 
where  men  learn  to  understand  and  appreciate 
women,  those  women  who  bear  the  blessed  symbol 
of  the  Cross  of  Red  and  devote  their  energies  and 
their  great  sympathies  to  the  merciful  work  of 
healing.  It  is  scarcely  to  be  wondered  at  that 
our  men  were  envious  of  these  "Blighties." 

On  either  side  of  the  road  the  fields  were  massed 
with  men  and  material,  and  one  could  not  help 
thinking  of  the  change  that  a  few  days  had  made. 
Less  than  two  weeks  ago  this  was  a  shell-svv^ept 
area,  and  now  it  was  a  huge  encampment.  As 
we  continued  the  changes  were  still  more  notice- 
able, and  still  more  satisfactory.  For  as  we  en- 
tered Fricourt  we  passed  what  remained  of  the 


REST— AND  RETURN  TO  THE  "SHOW"  261 

railway  station  in  which  stood  the  riddled  and 
wrecked  remnants  of  the  last  train  that  had 
moved  over  that  line  almost  two  years  ago,  and 
now  our  engineers  were  clearing  the  line  and  mak- 
ing ready  to  relay  the  tracks  for  the  trains  which 
would  very  soon  be  running  into  the  station.  And 
Fricourt  itself!  What  a  scene  it  presented  not 
only  of  destruction  but  construction.  Already 
the  main  road  had  been  cleared  of  debris  and  re- 
paired sufficiently  to  allow  of  its  being  used. 
Dugouts  were  made  habitable  and  wire  entan- 
glements erected  for  defensive  purposes.  The 
w^hole  place  was  seething  with  activity,  and  it  did 
one  good  to  think  that  never  again  would  the 
Germans  set  foot  in  tlie  village  they  had  occupied 
for  so  long.  No  one  knew  what  a  satisfaction  it 
was  to  us  to  note  all  these  things  and  to  realise 
that  our  men  had  played  so  large  a  part  in  bring- 
ing about  this  great  change.* 

The  sight  of  this  evidence  of  our  gains  had  a 
wonderful  effect  on  the  spirits  of  our  men,  and 
they  went  forward  with  a  new  spring  in  their 
step.  On  we  went  keeping  to  the  right  of  Fri- 
court Wood  and  continued  till  we  reached  Bot- 
tom Wood  where  the  Battalion  was  distributed 
according  to  plan.    My  company  held  the  line  on 

*  Alas  Fricourt  has  recently  been  retaken  by  the  Germans. 


262         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

the  north  eastern  edge  of  the  wood  and  a  rough 
piece  of  trench  it  was,  much  of  it  had  been  com- 
pletely destroyed  by  shells  and  the  whole  place 
was  littered  with  all  sorts  of  war  material,  rifles, 
bombs,  clothing,  accoutrement  of  all  kind,  food 
and  so  forth,  most  of  which  was  German. 

Fortunately  there  were  not  very  many  bodies 
lying  about.  Of  course  the  few  we  found  had  to 
be  buried  without  delay  as  they  had  been  there 
many  days.  While  some  of  the  men  were  en- 
gaged in  this  unpleasant  task  the  others  were  set 
to  consolidating  the  trench,  and  clearing  the  parts 
that  had  fallen  in.  This  also  proved  far  from 
agreeable  as  many  naked  bodies  were  unearthed. 
The  Germans  with  their  high  degree  of  efficiency 
and  lack  of  sentiment  remove  everything  from 
their  dead.  So  the  finding  of  these  bodies  was 
gruesome,  to  express  it  in  mildest  terms. 

For  three  days  we  occupied  the  line,  and  they 
were  three  days  of  misery  as  the  enemy  kept  up 
a  regular  rain  of  lachrymatory  gas  shells  so  that 
every  crater  was  a  reservoir  of  the  vile  stuff  and 
the  very  ground  itself  was  impregnated  with  it. 
The  result  was  that  we  were  in  a  constant  state 
of  crying,  for  the  gas,  so  well  named  "tear  gas" 
causes  intense  inflammation  of  the  eyes  as  well 
as  to  the  membrane  of  the  throat  and  nose.    For- 


REST— AND  RETURN  TO  THE  "SHOW"  263 

tunately  it  is  not  deadly,  but  it  makes  life  a 
miserable  burden  and  results  in  a  great  loathing 
for  the  very  name  of  a  German.  For  a  short 
time  the  goggles  with  which  we  are  furnished, 
act  as  a  protection,  but  it  is  not  long  before  the 
gas  gets  through  and  attacks  the  eyes. 

During  our  spare  time,  when  things  were  quiet, 
we  collected  and  sorted  all  material  that  had  any 
value,  so  that  when  the  salvage  company  came 
it  could  be  easily  handled. 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  Hot  Corner — Gassed 

On  the  evening  of  the  14th  we  received  the 
orders,  for  which  we  had  been  waiting,  rumour, 
that  unreliable  source  of  trouble,  had  said  that 
after  all  we  should  not  be  needed  and  so  we  half 
expected  to  return  to  finish  our  disturbed  rest. 
But  no  such  luck !  Our  orders  were  to  move  for- 
ward at  six  the  following  morning  to  a  given 
point  at  the  south  east  corner  of  Mametz  Wood, 
where  we  should  find  the  rest  of  the  Brigade,  and 
further  instruction  would  be  sent  later. 

On  the  morning  of  the  15th  I  assembled  my 
company  preparatory  to  moving,  while  going 
over  the  line  to  see  that  everything  was  left  in 
proper  order  and  that  my  ex- German  dugout 
contained  nothing  in  the  way  of  papers.  I  heard 
a  shell  making  its  way  toward  me  with  entirely 
unnecessary  speed.  Frankly  I  thought  it  was 
going  to  hit  me,  but  no,  it  fell  some  thirty  yards 
or  so  directly  in  front,  I  crouched  low,  expect- 
ing it  to  burst,  but  instead  of  the  orthodox  deaf- 

264 


A  HOT  CORNER— GASSED  265 

ening  roar,  there  was  only  a  mild  puff.  Dud, 
thought  I,  and  thanked  the  careless  person  who 
had  presumably  made  some  mistake  in  the  shell's 
makeup.  I  was  premature  in  the  congratulations 
and  thanks,  for  apparently  the  shell  contained 
phosgene  gas,  which  up  to  then  was  entirely  new 
to  us.  Owing  to  the  pollution  of  the  air  by  the 
omnipresent  pineapple-smelling  tear  gas,  I  could 
not  detect  the  odour  of  the  new  poison,  and  the 
thick  fog  which  prevailed  at  the  time  prevented 
the  gas  from  spreading  freely. 

This  probably  saved  me  from  a  bad  dose,  and 
at  the  time  beyond  an  increased  irritation  of 
the  throat  and  a  disagreeable  shortness  of  breath 
I  did  not  feel  the  effects. 

As  we  were  about  to  start,  a  Battalion  of  one 
of  the  Scottish  regiments  passed  us;  as  they  dis- 
appeared into  the  fog  with  their  kilts  swinging  to 
their  long  slow  strides,  I  could  not  help  thinking 
v/hat  a  fine  body  of  men  they  were.  The  kilts 
make  them  appear  abnormally  tall  and  sturdy. 
As  soon  as  they  had  cleared  us  we  moved  toward 
the  sound  of  the  guns;  at  first  we  had  to  trust 
to  the  compass  for  our  direction,  but  gradually 
the  fog  lifted  and  as  we  reached  what  was  known 
with  such  good  reason  as  Death's  Valley  Road,  a 
large  body  of  troops  came  along.     I  halted  my 


266         WHEN  THE  SOM]ME  RAN  RED 

company  and  waited  for  the  column  to  pass, 
since  we  were  well  ahead  of  tune.  Scarcely  had 
it  gone  a  hundred  yards  clear  of  us  than  we 
heard  the  dreaded  hum  of  a  huge  shell  coming 
and  an  instant  later  a  deafening  roar  as  it  ex- 
ploded. The  result  was  a  ghastly  sight,  for  it 
had  landed  right  in  the  centre  of  the  forward 
company  of  that  Battalion  and  practically  wiped 
it  out.  Had  we  gone  ahead,  as  we  might  so  easily 
have  done,  the  catastrophe  would  have  fallen  on 
us,  and  my  company  would  never  have  reported 
itself  "present"  at  the  rendezvous. 

The  scene  around  the  outskirts  and  edge  of 
Mametz  Wood  was  simply  indescribable.  The 
whole  place  was  literally  carpeted  with  bodies, 
the  enemy  having  put  up  an  especially  vigorous 
resistance  in  the  attempt  to  hold  the  Wood.  Con- 
sidering that  he  was  most  thoroughly  entrenched, 
and  had  the  protection  of  the  woods,  it  struck  me 
as  marvellous  that  our  men  had  succeeded  in 
winning. 

They  had  had  to  rush  over  a  wide  stretch  of 
absolutely  open  country  without  a  particle  of 
shelter  except  w^hat  was  afforded  by  the  shell 
holes,  and  it  was  uphill  all  the  way  from  the 
road.  What  terrible  execution  they  wrought 
among   the   enemy   was   very   evident   for   the 


A  HOT  CORNER— GASSED  g©T 

trenches  were  in  many  places  piled  three  and  four 
deep  with  bodies. 

In  the  centre  of  this  scene  of  carnage  was 
our  rendezvous.  Owing  to  the  fog  two  of  the 
companies  had  lost  their  way,  and  we  were  de- 
layed for  an  hour  or  more  but  eventually  "all 
present"  was  reported  and  after  eating  a  light 
lunch  in  this  gruesome  setting  we  moved  for- 
ward once  more.  Our  orders  were  to  proceed 
to  Bazentin-le-Petit  and  take  up  a  position  in 
front  of  the  village  at  a  given  place.  The  Ger- 
mans had  very  recently  been  driven  out  of  the 
village  and  were  attacking  it  in  considerable 
force,  so  it  looked  as  though  we  were  in  for  some 
fun.  ! 

In  less  than  an  hour  we  reached  the  lower  cor- 
ner of  Bazentin-le-Petit  Wood  and  there  rested 
for  ten  minutes.  Our  position  gave  us  a  splendid 
view  of  the  village  we  v/ere  to  hold.  It  also  gave 
us  a  view  which  was  by  no  means  splendid  of 
a  very  fine  assortment  of  shells,  large  venomous 
ones,  bursting  incessantly  all  over  the  said  vil- 
lage ;  evidently  the  Hun  did  not  propose  that  we 
should  occupy  the  place  with  any  undue  degree 
of  comfort.  "I^Iarked  activity"  might  be  the  de- 
scription of  the  enemy's  attitude.  From  every 
direction  came  the  roar  of  shells  and  the  spiteful 


^6S        WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

crackling  of  machine  guns.  The  whole  air  vi- 
brated with  the  ceaseless  noise.  It  was  a  beau- 
tiful Summer  day  completely  spoilt.  We  made 
our  way  up  the  steep  hill  by  way  of  the  road 
that  skirts  the  Eastern  side  of  the  wood  and 
leads  to  the  village,  and  I  confess  it  looked  as 
though  we  were  walking  straight  into  the  jaws  of 
death.  Surely  no  one  could  come  out  of  such  an 
infernal  bombardment.  | 

By  good  luck  we  reached  the  village  without  a 
casualty  and  made  our  way  along  the  shattered 
main  street  which  ran  through  the  ruined  mass  of 
buildings.  On  our  left  was  the  poor  little  church 
with  only  one  small  piece  of  wall  standing,  and 
on  that,  in  a  niche  stood  a  statue  of  the  Virgin 
with  hands  extended  as  though  in  welcome  to  us. 

We  halted  just  beyond  the  church  while  the 
Colonel  and  Adjutant  went  ahead  to  see  about 
the  position  which  had  been  assigned  to  us  in  the 
apple  orchard.  As  a  quartet  of  large  shells  burst 
rather  too  close,  sending  bricks  and  earth  hurtling 
through  the  air,  the  order  was  given  to  take  what 
cover  was  available.  The  best  protection  to  be 
found  was  in  shell  holes.  There  was  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  these,  and  more  were  being  made 
every  minute.  Here  and  there  a  ruined  house 
or   cellar   would   offer   some   inducement,    but 


A  HOT  CORNER— GASSED  269 

though  this  afforded  protection  against  pieces  of 
flying  metal  or  bricks,  it  also  afforded  a  most 
excellent  opportunity  for  inexpensive  and  very 
expeditious  burial. 

It  was  not  long  before  the  Colonel  returned 
with  information  of  a  most  unsatisfactory  na- 
ture. The  position  allotted  to  us  was  so  crowded 
with  men  that  not  another  one  could  be  crowded 
in.  This  meant  that  for  the  present  at  least  we 
must  remain  where  we  were.  As  a  health  re- 
sort the  place  could  by  no  stretch  of  the  imagina- 
tion be  considered  a  success,  and  we  all  sincerely 
hoped  our  term  of  occupation  would  be  short. 

The  Colonel,  second  in  command,  and  Adju- 
tant were  in  a  nice  shell  hole  on  the  side  of  the 
main  street,  I  with  about  fifteen  men  occupied 
the  adjoining  one.  In  front  of  us  was  a  bank  of 
earth  some  ten  feet  high.  About  us  the  rest  of 
the  battalion  were  crouching  in  all  sorts  of  places, 
but  the  shell  holes  were  I  think  the  most  popular. 
Frequent  moves  became  necessary  as  the  enemy 
picked  out  certain  spots  for  his  kindly  attentions 
and  the  moves  were  made  with  extraordinary 
speed. 

The  number  of  shells  that  entered  the  ruined 
village  was  appalling,  and  the  incessant  roar  ab- 
solutely deafening.    Every  now  and  then  the  ex- 


270         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

plosions  would  send  masses  of  earth  and  debris 
among  us,  while  great  pieces  of  metal  shrieked 
past  in  a  most  disconcerting  way.  Under  such 
conditions  it  seemed  impossible  that  we  could 
escape  destruction  and  I  do  not  believe  any  one 
of  us  expected  to  see  another  day.  Names  and 
addresses  of  wives  or  mothers  were  written  on 
scraps  of  paper  and  passed  from  one  to  another 
with  the  simple  request:  "If  I  get  scuppered  send 
a  line  to  this  address,  you  know  what  to  say." 
"Right  oh!  you  might  do  the  same  for  me  like 
a  good  chap."  That  was  all,  no  one  seemed  as- 
tonished or  excited  at  the  predicament  we  were 
in.  It  was  part  of  the  game  and  perhaps  the 
worst  part  because  at  the  present  time  we  were 
not  able  to  hit  back. 

Occasionally  a  groan  showed  that  some  fellow 
bad  been  hit,  and  the  others  in  the  shell  hole  would 
crouch  a  little  lower.  Our  Major  who  was  sit- 
ting next  to  me  was  hit  twice  on  his  "tin  hat" 
'"but  neither  time  did  the  metal  go  through  the 
tough  steel.  Had  he  not  been  wearing  that  hat 
he  would  most  certainly  have  been  killed.  Then 
a  third  piece  struck  the  hat,  a  tiny  splinter  of  hard 
metal,  it  penetrated  and  cut  a  long  furrow  the 
entire  length  of  his  head,  fortunately  not  break- 
ing the  skull.    A  few  minutes  later  a  large  shell 


A  HOT  CORNER— GASSED  ^71 

burst  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street  and  the 
Adjutant  leaned   back,    stone   dead.      I   could 

scarcely  believe  that  poor  S was  gone.     He 

was  such  a  good  chap !  Of  our  old  lot  that  had 
trained  together  in  England  except  myself,  and  I 
was  fast  becoming  useless  owing  to  the  effect  of 
the  gas  which  was  getting  in  its  deadly  work  and 
causing  me  very  great  pain,  there  was  now  only 
one  unwounded  officer  left.  i 

The  long  strain  and  the  many  casualties,  to  say 
nothing  of  the  frequent  partial  buryings,  were 
beginning  to  tell  on  the  men,  and  the  Colonel 
thought  it  advisable  to  calm  them.  Before  we 
realised  what  he  was  doing  he  was  out  of  the  shell 
hole  and  on  the  bullet-swept  street.  With  the 
utmost  calmness  he  took  out  a  cigarette  from  his 
case,  lit  it,  and  walked  up  and  down  the  pave 
smoking  away  as  though  he  were  on  Pall  Mall. 
Why  he  was  not  killed  the  good  Lord  only  knows. 
By  all  the  laws  of  chance  he  should  have  been 
riddled,  but  no,  the  cigarette  finished,  he  rejoined 
us  in  the  hole  and  had  the  satisfaction  of  observ- 
ing that  the  men  had  quieted  dov/n.  It  was  a 
splendidly  brave  thing  to  do.  Later  he  acknowl- 
edged that  he  had  been  "in  a  deuce  of  a  funk." 

This  incident  shows  something  of  the  relation- 
ship between  the  men  and  the  officers  in  our  army. 


272         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

It  is  the  officers'  duty  to  understand  the  psy- 
chology of  the  men,  to  know  when  to  give  orders 
and  when  to  get  things  done  by  setting  an  ex- 
ample. When  to  be  harsh,  when  to  be  lenient. 
In  other  words  he  must  know  men  and  in  partic- 
ular those  under  his  own  command,  know  them 
individually,  their  personal  peculiarities,  their 
weak  points  and  their  strong  points,  and  he  must 
make  the  men  respect  him  while  he  in  turn  re- 
spects them.  Here  lies  the  chief  difference  be- 
tween our  army  and  the  Germans.  They  drive 
their  men,  we  lead  ours  not  only  into  battle  but 
in  other  things.  People  laugh  at  us  for  our  pe- 
culiar habit  of  going  over  the  top  carrying  walk- 
ing sticks.  This  has  a  moral  effect  that  cannot 
be  overestimated.  To  those  who  question  it,  there 
is  this  answer :  the  men  follow. 

It  is  very  different  from  the  German  method. 
The  officer  goes  behind  his  men.  He  is  in  the 
safer  position,  and  the  very  idea  of  an  officer  being 
safer  than  his  men  is  abhorrent  to  us  and  con- 
trary to  all  our  traditions.  The  question  of  the 
officers' personal  relations  with  the  men  is  always 
interesting  but  very  difficult  to  define.  The  line 
between  fellowship  and  familiarity  is  most  sharp- 
ly drawn,  even  under  the  strain  of  life  at  the  fight- 
ing front  it  seldom  breaks  down ;  this  is  due  chief- 


A  HOT  CORNER— GASSED  273 

ly  to  our  mutual  respect.  We  know  that  the  men 
will  do  anything  they  are  told  to  do  and  endure 
the  utmost  hardships  without  complaint.  They 
in  turn  know  that  the  officer  will  never  ask  them 
to  take  unnecessary  risks  and  will  always  con- 
sider their  welfare  before  his  own. 

After  a  long  march  when  all  are  equally  tired 
(the  officers  carry  full  equipment  except  rifle  and 
cartridges,  but  have  other  things  in  their  place) 
when  the  officer  is,  perhaps  even  more  tired  as 
he  has  the  strain  of  the  responsibility  in  addition 
to  the  physical  fatigue.  He  must  not  think  of 
attendmg  to  his  own  comforts  until  he  has  seen 
that  the  men  are  properly  cared  for.  This  often 
requires  many  hours  of  work  and  much  walking 
when  he  would  much  rather  be  resting. 

As  time  went  on  things  instead  of  getting  bet- 
ter grew  steadily  worse.  If  we  remained  much 
longer  there  would  be  no  battalion  to  take  away. 
So  after  a  brief  consultation  the  Colonel  decided 
to  go  out  ahead  with  the  Major,  who  was  feeling 
very  groggy,  while  I  was  to  take  the  men  out 
of  the  village  to  a  place  of  comparative  safety 
near  the  Wood.  It  w^as  necessary  to  proceed  slow- 
ly, as  any  quick  movement  would  have  looked  like 
a  panic,  and  so,  perhaps,  have  started  trouble. 
But  to  march  out  slowly  under  such  heavy  shell 


274         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

fire  was  not  quite  as  easy  as  it  sounds.  Three 
of  the  companies  got  out  more  or  less  intact.  Then 
a  large  tree  was  struck  by  a  shell  and  fell  across 
the  roadway  and  held  up  the  last  company  which 
was  in  charge  of  young  W .  The  brief  de- 
lay was  fatal,  for  a  big  shell  landed  in  the  midst 
of  the  company  and  caused  a  terrible  number  of 

casualties,  among  them  poor  W .     He  and 

I  had  been  platoon  commanders  together  in  Eng- 
land and  I  felt  his  death  very  keenly,  his  extraor- 
dinary coolness  and  courage  had  earned  the  high- 
est admiration  from  all  who  knew  him. 

The  Brigadier  on  hearing  the  C.O.'s  account 
told  us  to  take  up  a  position  near  the  main  road 
in  Death's  Valley  and  hold  ourselves  in  readiness 
to  move  forward  at  a  moment's  notice  to  the  ridge 
alongside  of  the  village  we  had  just  left,  as  there 
was  a  good  deal  happening  up  there,  and  rein- 
forcements might  be  needed  very  soon.  The  val- 
ley in  which  we  were  to  wait  was  being  shelled 
pretty  freely,  so  the  men  were  ordered  to  dig  in. 

Now  if  there  is  one  order  which  never  has  to  be 
repeated  it  is  *'Dig  in."  In  an  incredibly  short 
time  the  red  clay  ground  was  honey-combed  with 
holes  big  enough  to  hold  one  or  two  men.  Those 
holes  are  most  comfortable  things  and  give  one 
a  feeling  of  safety  if  not  of  luxury.    Of  course 


A    TANK    CRUSHING    DOWN    BARBED     WIRE    ENTANGLEMENTS 

Few  obstructions  will  stop  the  progress  of  these  iiiighty  ene'nes 
of  modern  warfare. 


A  HOT  CORNER— GASSED  275 

they  cannot  be  depended  on  to  protect  you  if  a 
shell,  whether  it  be  large  or  small,  insists  on  shar- 
ing the  hole,  it  is  then  quite  time  to  look  for  "a 
better  'ole."  The  Colonel  insisted  on  appointing 
me  Adjutant,  a  post  I  have  never  wanted  to  fill, 
but  there  was  no  help  for  it  and  I  had  to  accept. 
In  fact  I  was  feeling  too  ill  to  care  much  what  I 
was  or  did.  The  gas  was  getting  in  its  deadly 
work.  My  career  during  the  past  ten  days  had 
been  one  of  many  changes.  Brigade  Scout  and 
Intelligence  Officer,  Second  in  Command.  Com- 
pany Commander  and  Adjutant,  and  all  this  time 
my  official  rank  {and  pay)  was  that  of  Lieuten- 
ant. I 
In  the  course  of  the  afternoon  we  were  ordered 
to  send  a  company  into  Bazentin-le-Petit  in  order 
to  capture  or  destroy  some  enemy  machine  guns 
that  had  been  playing  havoc.  It  was  a  nasty  un- 
dertaking, but  young  A ,  a  mere  boy  of  19 

years,  made  a  satisfactory  job  of  it  and  returned 
without  having  had  any  casualties.  While  we  lay 
in  our  various  earthly  grave-like  receptacles 
watching  the  continued  bombarding  of  Bazentin- 
le-Petit  and  thanking  our  stars  that  we  were  not 
in  that  death  trap,  we  were  interested  in  seeing 

the cavalry  passing  along  the  road.     They 

had  been  at  Delville  Wood,  or  as  Tommy  calls  it 


276        WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

"Devil  Wood."  As  they  rode  along,  the  Ger- 
mans, evidently  knowing  the  route  they  would 
take  and  their  approximate  pace,  followed  them 
with  shells  all  the  way  down,  almost  as  far  as 
Fricourt,  but  as  good  luck  would  have  it  they  al- 
ways overshot  the  mark  by  seventy-five  or  a  hun- 
dred yards.  Just  like  the  Germans,  if  they  do  a 
thing  wrong  they  keep  on  doing  it  wrong,  think- 
ing that  because  tliey  do  it,  it  must  be  right.  Their 
first  range  had  been  wrong  by  a  certain  amount, 
and  the  error  had  continued  as  long  as  they  fol- 
lowed the  road.  We  were  not  sorry  to  see  the 
last  of  these  horsemen  as  they  had  been  the  inno- 
cent cause  of  a  number  of  shells  dropping  in  our 
particular  neighbourhood. 

Late  that  evening  things  quieted  down.  The 
Hun  had  had  enough,  and  was  content  to  leave 
us  in  possession  of  all  we  had  acquired,  and  as 
our  Battalion  were  not  likely  to  be  needed  we  re- 
ceived the  welcome  orders  to  return  to  Bottom 
Wood,  and  so,  wearily,  and  sadly  depleted  in 
numbers,  we  retraced  our  steps  to  our  starting 
point  of  the  morning.  During  our  absence  the 
woods  and  small  valley  beyond  had  been  heavily 
strafed  J  but  comparative  quiet  now  reigned,  and 
we  were  glad  to  be  back,  not  even  objecting  to 
the  filthy  tear  gas  which  filled  the  air.    For  my 


A  HOT  CORNER— GASSED  ^77 

own  part  I  could  not  have  kept  going  any  longer. 
The  gas  was  affecting  my  lungs  and  heart  and  an 
incessant  cough  racked  me  so  that  I  could  scarce- 
ly lie  down.  The  stuffy  gas-laden  air  of  the  dug- 
out made  things  worse,  and  never  do  I  remember 
having  spent  a  more  miserable  night.  As  Adju- 
tant it  was  important  that  I  attended  to  certain 
duties  the  following  morning,  but  I  fear  that  my 
reports  were  somewhat  incoherent. 

About  noon  orders  came  for  us  to  move  for- 
ward that  night  to  take  part  in  an  attack.  The 
doctor  having  forbidden  my  going,  there  was 
nothing  for  it  but  to  make  my  way  back  to  the 
hospital,  which  I  proceeded  to  do  as  soon  as  I 
had  attended  to  the  Battalion's  rations,  and  hand- 
ed over  the  Adjutancy  to  one  of  the  nev/  officers. 

That  trip  back  to  M e  was  a  nightmare.  At 

first  I  tried  to  ride,  but  the  horse  loaned  to  me 
was  a  big  powerful  high-spirited  animal;  every 
time  a  gun  fired,  and  it  seemed  as  though  the 
whole  country  was  nothing  but  guns,  the  beast 
reared  and  made  himself  generally  objectionable. 
After  half  an  hour  of  this  agony,  as  I  was  almost 
blinded  with  pain,  I  handed  the  horse  over  to  one 
of  the  ration  party  and  made  the  rest  of  the  way 
on  foot.  The  distance  was  only  about  three  or 
four  miles  but  it  took  me  hours  to  do  it.    In  vain 


9.1S        WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

did  I  examine  each  ambulance  that  passed,  but 
they  were  crowded  to  the  limit  of  their  capacity 
with  men  in  far  worse  condition  than  I  was,  for 
the  past  two  days  had  been  costly. 

Occasionally  along  the  road  I  came  across 
others  like  myself,  who  were  not  considered  bad 
enough  for  ambulances,  and  they  hobbled  along 
in  every  condition  of  body,  some  slightly  and 
some  quite  badly  wounded,  some  could  only  go 
a  few  steps  between  halts,  others  moved  along 
almost  gaily  with  broken  arms  or  flesh  wounds 
which  did  not  prevent  their  walking.  The  great 
thing  is  to  get  to  a  hospital  as  soon  as  possible, 
have  the  wounds  dressed  and  then  on  to 
"Blighty." 

It  was  very  late  when  I  finally  reached  the 
hospital  and  there  learned  after  examination  that 
I  had  been  gassed,  and  that  I  should  not  have 
taken  a  step  since  receiving  the  poison  the  day 
before. 

Having  been  duly  labelled  and  laid  on  a 
stretcher,  I  was  put  in  a  large  ambulance  and 

taken  to  H y  where  there  was  a  very  large 

clearing  hospital  composed  of  innumerable  tents. 
Never  so  long  as  I  live  shall  I  forget  the  feel- 
ing of  contentment  that  followed  the  washing 
and  careful  kindly  treatment  given  to  me  by  those 


A  HOT  CORNER— GASSED  ^79 

splendid  nurses,  and  the  nice  comfortable  bed, 
with  its  sweet  clean  sheets.  It  was  Heaven,  and 
the  nurses  were  the  angels.  It  was  worth  all  the 
horrors  of  the  past  days,  and  what  those  horrors 
were  I  have  scarcely  suggested  as  they  would 
not  make  good  reading.  Even  though  sleep  was 
impossible,  I  enjoyed  lying  there,  quite  satis- 
fied that  I  did  not  have  to  move,  that  no  one 
expected  me  to  do  anything,  that  there  was  no 
insistent  telephone  giving  unwelcome  orders,  and 
best  of  all  that  there  were  no  shells  and  no  gas. 
In  my  semi-stupefied  condition  it  mattered  not 
to  me  that  in  the  cots  around  me  men  were  dying. 
At  least  their  last  minutes  were  made  as  pain- 
less and  comfortable  as  possible,  poor  fellows, 
for  them  the  war  was  over,  they  had  given  their 
all,  and  they  could  face  their  Maker  with  the 
knowledge  that  they  had  done  their  full  duty. 
The  following  evening  I  was  taken  to  the  train. 
Things  are  rather  vague  in  my  mind  regarding 
the  next  few  hours,  dimly  I  recall  the  wonderful 
hospital  train  where  everything  that  can  be  done 
for  the  comfort  of  the  wounded  is  so  faithfully 
done  by  those  who  serve  under  the  Red  Cross. 

My  destination  was  Rouen,  one  of  those  splen- 
did hospitals  where  the  same  kindness  and  effi- 
ciency are  so  noticeable.    Owing  to  the  urgency 


280        WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

of  keeping  hospitals  in  France  as  clear  as  pos- 
sible for  bad  cases  that  cannot  bear  travelling,  all 
who  can  be  moved  are  sent  to  England,  and  I  was 
very  happy  when  one  morning  a  few  days  later 
the  nurse  came  in,  accompanied  by  stretcher 
bearers,  and  informed  me  that  I  was  to  go  to 
"Blighty." 

How  or  by  what  route  I  was  going  did  not 
interest  me,  it  was  sufficient  that  I  would  soon 
be  HOME.  To  my  surprise  the  ambulance 
took  me  down  to  the  river;  and  alongside  of  the 
landing  was  a  beautiful  white  steamer  Vfith  a 
broad  green  band  and  a  very  large  Red  Cross 
painted  on  the  side,  the  markings  of  a  hospital 
ship,  supposed  to  protect  it  against  attack,  but 
the  German  disregards  that  law  as  he  does  so 
many  others.  On  to  this  steamer  I  was  carried, 
and  within  an  hour  we  started  down  that  wonder- 
ful quiet  river.  What  a  day  that  v/as,  glorious 
mid-summer  weather  and  England  only  a  few 
hours  away!    Life  was  worth  while  after  all. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

The  Pivot 

It  ^turned  out  that  my  days  at  the  front  were 
finished,  that  I  was  considered  unfit  for  further 
active  service  so  far  as  the  trenches  were  con- 
cerned. In  some  ways  I  regret  that  fact,  for 
with  all  the  horrors,  all  the  hardships,  there  is  a 
fascination  about  the  life  over  there  that  cannot 
be  described.  Not  for  all  the  money  on  earth 
would  I  have  missed  the  experience  of  those  days. 
Many  things  were  taught,  but  none  more  thor- 
oughly than  the  admiration  for  Tommy  Atkins. 
He  is  a  man  through  and  through.  He  grumbles 
and  he  growls,  especially  when  things  are  going 
too  well,  but  he  does  his  job. 

It  is  hard  luck  not  being  in  the  active  part  of 
the  "show"  until  the  end,  but  unfortunately  that 
has  been  the  fate  of  so  many  and  we  who  are  alive 
and  free  from  serious  mutilation  are  among  the 
lucky  ones,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  we  are 
out  of  the  fight  itself.  We  can  look  back  at 
the  Battle  of  the  Somme  with  a  great  satisfac- 

281 


^82         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

tion,  for  even  though  we  were  unable  to  go  for- 
ward as  far  as  it  was  hoped  we  might,  we  dem- 
onstrated beyond  any  doubt  the  efficiency  of 
our  new  army.  We  showed  the  Germans  that 
even  with  the  training  of  a  year  or  so  our  men 
were  a  match  for  their  highly  trained,  machine- 
made  soldiers. 

Germany,  when  she  selected  the  Somme  region 
for  her  great  strategic  line  of  resistance  (after 
being  forced  back  from  her  drive  to  Paris)  had 
done  all  that  human  ingenuity  could  do  to  render 
her  line  impregnable.  It  was  called  a  trench  sys- 
tem but  more  correctly  speaking  it  was  a  system 
of  underground  and  ground-level  forts,  with  re- 
inforced concrete  construction  at  the  vital  points, 
subterranean  passages  and  immense  assembly 
dugouts,  barbed  wire  entanglements  on  a  scale 
never  before  attempted,  guns  and  machine  guns 
in  numbers  hitherto  unknown.  Nothing  had  been 
left  to  chance. 

But  in  spite  of  all  these  gigantic  prepara- 
tions and  precautions,  our  long  months  of  seem- 
ing inertia,  during  which  we  were  quietly  mak- 
ing ready,  Germany's  armies  were  forced  to  re- 
tire before  the  advance  of  our  men,  forced  to 
relinquish  line  after  line,  to  acknowledge  at  last 
that  we  were  not  only  their  equals  but  their  su- 


THE  PIVOT  283 

periors  in  the  game  of  fighting.  Germany  had 
prayed  for  Der  Tag  and  she  got  it  on  July  1st, 
1916,  though  not  in  the  way  she  expected  it,  for 
on  that  memorable  day  we  started  to  win — to 
break  the  power  of  the  greatest  military  organisa- 
tion that  the  world  has  ever  known.  It  was  the 
pivotal  day  of  the  war.  As  we  look  back  and  see 
how  from  the  beginning  of  the  Battle  of  the 
Somme  our  armies  have  forged  ahead  in 
France,  at  the  thousands  of  square  miles  of  ter- 
ritory the  invaders  have  been  forced  to  abandon, 
at  the  hundreds  of  villages  returned  to  France, 
some  mere  masses  of  ruin,  others  more  or  less 
intact,  at  the  thousands  of  prisoners  we  have  cap- 
tured, and  find  that  with  one  slight  exception  all 
our  gains  have  been  held,  we  feel  that  our  ef- 
forts have  not  been  in  vain,  and  that  eventually 
the  great  military  power  of  Germany  will  be 
broken. 

The  recent  developments  in  Russia  appear  to 
be  very  discouraging,  but  against  the  bad  news 
from  that  quarter  we  have  the  magnificent  co- 
operation of  the  United  States.  Her  unlimited 
resources  in  men,  money  and  material — the  three 
great  M's — wiW  prove  to  be  a  factor  of  the  most 
vital  importance — that  she  will  throw  the  entire 
weight  of  her  gigantic  power  into  the  task  of 


284         WHEN  THE  SOMME  RAN  RED 

freeing  the  world  from  any  risk  of  the  tryranny 
of  German  domination  is  certain  and  Germany 
will  most  bitterly  regret  the  acts,  such  as  the 
sinking  of  the  Ldisitania,  which  brought  Americft 
into  the  war. 

In  the  months  that  have  passed  since  the  days 
of  the  Somme,  I  have  listened  to  too  much  talk. 
I  have  read  even  more  of  what  men  think.  Many 
are  too  willing  and  free  with  their  criticism.  These 
critics  are  divided  into  two  classes:  destructive 
and  constructive.  The  former  by  far  the  larger, 
and  they  again  are  divided  into  two  parties :  those 
who  have  entered  the  service  of  their  country  in 
a  moment  of  transient  patriotism,  filled  with  de- 
sire to  be  seen  in  King's  uniform,  these  may  have 
been  kept  in  England  owing  to  their  inefficiency 
in  some  way  or  other,  or  they  may  have  gone  to 
France,  or  one  of  the  other  fronts,  and  failed  to 
make  good.  They  growl  without  ceasing,  and 
find  fault  with  everything  and  everybody,  espe- 
cially those  who,  by  their  greater  ability,  have  at- 
tained higher  rank.  Nothing  is  being  done  right 
and  no  one  who  has  succeeded  in  gaining  distinc- 
tion is  any  good  at  all,  so  they  say.  Then  the 
other  lot  are  those  who  sit  smugly  in  their  arm 
chairs  and  tell  how  the  war  should  be  conducted, 
and  how  and  why  this  or  that  offensive  failed. 


THE  PIVOT  285 

They  know  it  all,  and  their  foolish  prattle  tests 
the  patience  of  ail  who  hear  it.  For  them  death 
is  almost  too  good.  They  are  a  scourge,  and  the 
world  is  not  big  enough  to  hold  them.  Their  in- 
solence in  criticising  the  magnificent  work  that 
is  being  done  makes  one's  blood  boil.  Let  them 
give  up  their  comforts  for  a  bit  and  go  over  to 
France  and  see  what  men  do.  Let  them  see  the 
difficulties  that  continually  confront  those  who 
are  in  power  out  there.  Let  them  taste  of  the 
Hunnish  Horrors,  then  perhaps  they  will  put  a 
seal  on  their  tongues  and  unlock  their  minds. 

This  is  no  time  for  finding  fault,  for  trying 
to  undermine  the  trust  of  the  people  in  those 
who  are  making  the  Herculean  efforts  that  have 
surprised  the  world.  It  is  time  for  doing  things, 
great  or  small  according  to  the  individual  ability. 
If  every  one  will  do  his  utmost  and  keep  his 
tongue  in  check,  our  task  will  be  the  easier.  We 
shall  shorten  the  days  of  the  war,  and  will  reap 
the  benefits  for  which  we  have  shed  our  blood 
and  treasure. 


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JUL    11  1934     ^n 


JUL    12  1934 


REC.  CIR.    JUL  9    75 


Aptd  A^.  tn\ 


!n  ^   rt  , 


Sffir 


9  ^73  -lOAM  a  ^ 


Ayra 


n-.  5  c  r^ 


imrtr 


JULIO  iy;bn#:iHATinN 


JAN2Zmi 


H-A-^/9^ 


MAR  U  G  199? 


uo 


LD21-100m-7,'33 


jj-»5»{tjtt-^a-«v_ 


